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A driver whose van broke down moments after he ran a red light in front of police in Birkenhead has been jailed for two years after fracturing an officer's shoulder during a violent struggle in moving traffic.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Billy Rutter, 38, of Mackenzie Road in Leasowe, threw PC Gary Stoddart to the ground with force after the officer tried to administer a roadside breath test on Balls Road East on the evening of 20 January last year.
PC Stoddart was patrolling around Birkenhead at 8:45 pm. He noticed Rutter driving a white van that was in poor condition. He followed the vehicle, and witnessed Rutter run a red light as he turned into Balls Road East. However, after turning, the van broke down immediately.
The PC approached the driver's window of the vehicle and smelled alcohol. He noted that Rutter was slurring as he spoke, so he opened the door and told Rutter he'd need to take a breath test in the police car.
Rutter did not comply, and pushed the officer, which sparked a struggle in the road while other vehicles continued. Rutter wrestled Stoddart to the ground, throwing him down hard before landing on top of him. The PC felt instant pain in his arm and shoulder.
Subsequently, Rutter fled the scene but was arrested the next day. He resisted arrest, so officers used PAVA spray. He even tried to spit at another PC, Thomas Frances.
Upon his van being searched, a craft knife was found in the driver's side door.
As a result of the struggle, PC Stoddart suffered a fractured right shoulder and was off work for three months. He had surgery in December 2025 for the injury, although the effects are ongoing.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Rutter has 27 previous convictions for 50 offences, including rape in 2005, assault with intent to commit robbery in 2012, wounding in 2023, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in September 2025, as well as several drink driving offences.
His defence counsel John Weate told the court that Rutter's mother, Jackie Rutter, was shot dead on her doorstep on Meadowbrook Road in Moreton in October 2022 – a case that led to convictions with substantial minimum terms. He said Rutter had since returned to live with his father and was the "most stable he had felt in years".
Mr Weate also added his client was capable of working but, in light of the ongoing proceedings, had decided it would not be appropriate to seek employment at this stage because he was unsure what the outcome would be. However, the court heard that Rutter was keen to work and intended to look for employment once the proceedings had concluded.
Rutter admitted wounding without intent, assault, driving without due care and attention, and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
Sentencing him yesterday, Judge Garrett Byrne said: "Police officers do a difficult enough job. They are entitled to carry out their duties without being assaulted in this way. You threw him to the floor, causing injuries which continue to have an adverse impact on him to this day."
The judge noted that while Rutter had expressed a desire to walk away from his lifestyle, the pre-sentence report assessed his risk of violent offending as very high. Rutter gave a thumbs up to a man in the public gallery as he was led to the cells.
