A 24-year old man has been remanded in custody after allegedly attempting to run over a police officer in Ħamrun on Saturday.

Justin James Grima, from Tarxien, was arraigned in court on Sunday where he pleaded not guilty to attempting to cause serious injury, threatening a police officer, damaging a police motorcycle and a host of other charges, including traffic offences.

Police said the incident took place at around 3.20pm when the accused was driving a Mitsubishi Shogun along St Joseph High Street and was stopped over the tinted windows on the SUV.

He was told to follow traffic officers to the police garage, but instead attempted to flee in another direction. He was intercepted by police, who ordered him to turn off his engine, and when he refused, reached in through the window towards the ignition key.

According to the prosecution, the accused then grabbed the officer’s hand and said: “My cousin has already run over one of you; I’m not scared of running over two more.”

He then hit the accelerator and drove in the direction of two officers, smashing into a police motorcycle and narrowly missing the two.

He was arrested and taken to Police HQ. Among the charges against him, he is accused of breaching the peace by causing a commotion while in the lock-up later in the day.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia appeared for the accused. A request for bail was made but denied by Magistrate Simone Grech after the prosecution objected.

When the accused came out of the court room in police custody, relatives who were waiting outside insulted the police. The relatives then moved outside court and waited for the Magistrate to come out.

The Magistrate eventually left court escorted by a substantial number of officers.

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