Shocking moment raging thug head-butts train door in wild fury then bursts out attacking police officer before he’s pinned down and arrested
- Stephen Owellen was filmed being aggressive on the last Metro train home
- The 33-year-old kicked and slammed at the doors and was visibly angered
- Officers let him off the train and he charged at police and a Metro train driver
- Evidence submitted to court shows him stripping off before attacking the Metro driver
This is the shocking moment a thug head-butts a train door before attacking a police officer.
Stephen Owellen was filmed slamming and kicking the doors on the inside of a Metro train as he desperately tried to get out.
The officers on the platform then press the ‘open door’ button in order to let the 33-year-old off the train.
He then charges towards officers and the driver of the Metro before stripping off.
Stephen Owellen (pictured above) was filmed kicking and pushing the doors of the Metro train
Police bodycam footage from officers at Northumbria Police was submitted to court, along with another clip which showed the 33-year-old strip down to the nude, before laying into the driver.
Operator of the service in the Gosforth area of Newcastle upon Tyne, Nexus has now slammed the thug, who was spared prison for the savage attack on the last train home.
Metro Services Director, Chris Carson, said: ‘The safety and security of our workforce and customers is our top priority. Assaults on Metro drivers will not be tolerated.
‘We are disappointed that the person who committed this assault did not get sent to prison. This was a member of staff in uniform performing an essential public service who has ended up facing violence. Nobody deserves this kind of treatment when they’re at work.
Police then cautiously pressed the open door button to the let him out, he then ran at officer
‘While offending of this severity is rare on Metro, any kind of attack on staff, verbal or physical, is completely unacceptable. I’m thankful that the Metro driver wasn’t more seriously hurt and that the police were able to detain the offender at the scene.’
Mr Carson said the team has put in a series of measurements in order to enhance safety and to deter crime and anti-social behaviour on the lines.
‘Frontline staff have been issued with body-worn CCTV cameras and we are increasing the number of staff on the system to record levels.
‘We already work closely with the police and have stepped up high visibility patrols on the system where our own staff work alongside the Northumbria Police Metro Unit and Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
After running out the door he took his shirt off before running at officers. He was then arrested (pictured above)
‘The overall crime rate on Metro remains low for a transport system of its size, but anyone who thinks that it’s okay to attack one of our employees will face the courts and the prospect of a prison sentence.’
The footage shows officers bravely restraining Owellen, who North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard was brought up around violence and who owed over £3,000 due to previous convictions, says he was ‘spiked’.
He insisted he only had four pints that night.
Police arrived at Regent Centre to aid the driver, who had his cab window smashed before being beaten black and blue.
Owellen even barked ‘come on!’ as the doors open and he charges the officers.
But he had put his clothes back on by the time officers arrived in the early hours of February 9.
In court on Wednesday, he was described as being ‘fully naked’ when he struck.
He landed so many blows the driver lost count, recalling: ‘He was going crazy inside the cab.’
Mitigating, the Sunderland defendant’s brief Mark Richardson claimed his actions were ‘out of character’.
After Owellen pleaded guilty to assault by beating and criminal damage, Magistrates suspended his four month sentence for a year, ordering him to pay £200 compensation to the driver along with £100 to Nexus for the damage to