A motorist who evaded police, driving dangerously, and then tried to escape into a hotel after threatening to slit his own throat will spend six months in jail.
On March 20, police patrols in Al Garhood were called to a petrol station where a 23-year-old Emirati man was parked and sleeping in his car.
By the time the Somali policeman, 40, got to the petrol station, the man was being treated by paramedics.
"When I asked them what was wrong with him, they said it was probably a low blood pressure but the driver seemed not normal to me," said the officer.
When paramedics left, officers asked the driver for his Emirates ID but he stalled then tried to drive away, injuring a policeman in the process.
The defendant began driving dangerously around the petrol station and tried to run the policeman over.
"I stood in front of his car to stop him from driving recklessly but he didn't stop so I took out my gun and shot one tyre. It didn't work, I shot it a second and a third time but no use," the policeman said.
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According to court records, the driver sped off towards Marrakech Street, eventually arriving at the Emirates airlines car park where he began to lose tyre pressure.
The defendant tried to take an exit to a side road to escape police, who were following him, but was blocked by the patrols.
"He drove on the pavement but one of our patrols blocked his way and he rammed into it," said the policeman.
The driver got out of the car holding a knife which he allegedly used to slit his wrists twice and then threaten to slit his throat before running into a nearby hotel.
"A man ran into the hotel past the reception pointing a knife to his own throat. A police officer followed him and he started to threaten them with the knife. We saw him on cameras as he was roaming around the hotel trying to hide from police but they found him near the emergency exit and arrested him," said a Bangladeshi guard who works at the hotel.
At Dubai Criminal Court, the defendant denied charges of assaulting police officers, damaging police property, endangering lives and attempting suicide.
He was sentenced to six months in jail for the first three charges but was cleared of attempting suicide.