A pint-sized teenage criminal who terrorised a local community and bragged about his law-bending lifestyle on social media has been jailed for four years after mowing down a police officer in a stolen car.
During sentencing, the accused reportedly showed his contempt for the proceedings by yawning and stretching out his arms. “That to me sums up this young man’s approach to life,“ said Judge Martin Savill, according to the report. ”He couldn’t care less.”
The 18-year-old received the sentence after running over a police officer during a June 28 chase.
“That police officer could have been killed because of your selfishness,“ Judge Mark Savill said during sentencing. “You are just 18 but have an appalling record and the footage of the pursuit I have seen is truly chilling.”
Footage released by the shows Parkinson in the driver’s seat of a stolen Ford Fiesta that he had fitted with stolen plates, as police officer Christopher Haxby questions him through an open door.
Parkinson suddenly hits the gas and the car door smashes into Haxby, throwing him violently backward onto the hood of his police cruiser.
“It is a wonder how you didn’t kill or seriously injure a member of the public or a police officer,” Judge Savill said.
Injuries sustained by the officer forced him to take time off work.
Damage to the vehicles involved in the incident were estimated at £14,100 ($18,200).
Parkinson, who is just 5 feet 2 inches tall, had earlier gloated about his lifestyle on social media. This included a picture of him at the wheel of an expensive Rolls Royce. Other photos show him pointing a rifle and his name spelled out in cannabis leaves.
His arrest record includes busts for assaulting police officers two times, as well as robbery and theft of vehicles, according to the Manchester Evening News.
When Parkinson was placed in a special care facility, he threatened to shoot and stab the staff.
Parkinson’s lawyer, Mark Fireman, tried to defend his client’s actions, saying that he had “one of the worst starts in life I have seen.” Fireman added that the teenager is “extremely immature.”
The judge expressed sympathy for the lawyer’s words, but added that “there comes a time when the public has to be protected” and ordered the defendant to serve time behind bars.
“I can only hope this will offer you some cause to consider where your life is going,” said the judge, according to The Metro.
At the time of his arrest, Parkinson was on bail over another police chase in a different stolen car, which belonged to a disabled man.
