Body-worn video of a police officer shows the moments before he was allegedly stabbed with a pair of scissors 23 times by a suspected flasher, nicknamed the “Naked Carpenter”.
Robert Jenner, 50, is accused of the attempted murder of Police Constable Sean Quinn, who suffered multiple injuries including a “gaping wound” across his forehead which exposed his skull, during the attack on June 15 2023 at the defendant’s flat in Maidstone.
A trial at Maidstone Crown Court heard on Thursday that Jenner had been released from prison two days before the incident, having served a sentence for breaching a court order banning him from wearing see-through clothing.
Jenner believes he is a naturist and has 11 convictions for exposure as well as two breaches of the court order, jurors were told.
Constables Quinn and Angela Bates, of Kent Police, went to visit his home and arrest him on June 15, after they suspected him of matching a report of a male running naked in Mote Park, Maidstone, “nipping in and out of bushes exposing himself to women” at 7.50pm.
Footage shows four officers outside his home giving him his “last warning” before they force entry to the flat, breaking down the door with specialist equipment.
They then discover a sofa barricading the door, which they try to push out of the way while Pc Quinn asks Jenner to come out of the flat and to put down a pair of scissors.
Officers can also be heard coughing after Pc Bates tried to Pava spray Jenner in an attempt to “debilitate him slightly” to make a safe arrest, she had told jurors.
In the video Pc Quinn said: “Put those down now or you’ll get sprayed again.
“(He’s) got a pair of scissors.”
Pc Quinn is seen shouting “Robert” as he climbs over the sofa towards a dark room, which is where Jenner allegedly “launched” himself at the officer moments later as the door closed behind them.
Pc Luke Isaacs told jurors he kicked the door open to see Jenner knelt over Pc Quinn as he continued to “jab” him with the scissors, followed by Pc Sophie Groves who said, in a statement read in court, that she saw Pc Quinn’s head covered in blood.
She added that Jenner was on top of him also covered in blood and naked in the kitchen living room.
When Jenner was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, he said: “I didn’t mean to do it” and “is he okay?” and “F*** oh mate, I didn’t want this to happen, I didn’t want it to come to this”.
Pc Quinn was taken to King’s College Hospital where he was treated for his wounds, and discharged the following day.
Jenner, of Albion Place, Maidstone, denies charges of attempted murder and wounding with intent.
Jurors heard that Jenner’s defence is he was acting to defend himself from what he believed was an unlawful arrest or unlawful entry to his flat.
The trial continues.
