Press release: Man who threatened Hertfordshire police officers jailed

A man who pointed a gun at police officers has today been sent to prison after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal for being too low.

Sebastian Alcock, 38, threatened 2 police officers with an imitation firearm. The police officers had received reports of a man behaving suspiciously, and asked Alcock to get out of the car for a drug search. At this point he became aggressive, struggling violently against the officers, and produced a gun, which at the time was assumed to be real. The police officers feared for their lives and escaped, and firearm officers arrested Alcock shortly after.

Alcock was originally sentenced at St Albans Crown Court in August, where he was given 15 months imprisonment suspended for 2 years. Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 3 years immediate imprisonment.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

“This was a serious violent incident that was made even worse by Alcock’s threats using an imitation firearm towards police officers working in the line of duty. The Court of Appeal has recognised this today.”