Wellingborough gun alert led to 'horrifying' attack on police sergeant in shopping centre car park - man pleads guilty in court

A former Wellingborough man has pleaded guilty to the suffocation of a Wellingborough police sergeant in a ‘horrifying’ attack in the town centre’s multi-storey car park.

The attack by 57-year-old Max Hallam, on Police Sergeant Dave Cayton, took place after the officer rushed from nearby Wellingborough Police Station responding to a gun alert.

After attempting to detain Hallam to search for what was thought to be a rifle, the brave officer was punched in the face repeatedly and then suffocated by his attacker by climbing on top of him.

Sgt Cayton said: “I believed I was going to die. I was struggling to breathe because of the pressure on my chest and felt I was never going to escape.

“What happened on that day are events that will never leave me. I genuinely believed I would die.”

At about 10.45am on June 28, 2022, information was passed to Northamptonshire Police that a man in the Swansgate car park area of the town was seen to be carrying what looked like a gun slip – a bag designed to carry a long-barrelled firearm which would later be found to contain an air rifle.

When Sgt Cayton approached Hallam, he informed him that he was going to be detained under Section 47 of the Firearms’ Act for the purpose of a search. Hallam immediately became confrontational and opened the boot of his vehicle where the rifle bag could be seen.

Sgt Cayton attempted to establish control of the weapon but it was at this point that Hallam launched a savage attack on him - punching Sgt Cayton to the head and face until he fell to the ground.

Thankfully, another officer arrived as back-up due to lack of radio contact, pointing their Taser at Hallam who subsequently surrendered and was arrested by Sgt Cayton. Hallam would go on to be charged with intentional suffocation.

As a result of the incident, Sgt Cayton suffered multiple injuries including a haemorrhaged right eye, bruising, reddening and multiple abrasions.

Hallam appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Monday (January 16), where he pleaded guilty to intentional suffocation.

He will be sentenced at the same court next month on February 17.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley said: “The protection of my officers is something that is incredibly close to my heart and incidents like this truly chill me to my core.

“None of them come to work to be assaulted and this was an utterly horrifying attack on a dedicated and hardworking sergeant who has shown an incredible sense of duty during his entire career with Northamptonshire Police.

“An attack on a police officer is not only an attack on the uniform but on a person – a person with a family who love them and a family hoping that they will come home safe every night.

"Assaulting an officer will never ever become ‘part of the job’ and we will come for you with the full force of the law if you choose to attack one of our officers.

“I am pleased to see Max Hallam plead guilty to this awful crime and I hope his sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence.

“Finally, I want to thank the officers in CID, particularly the officer in the case DC Neil Carr, DS Andrew Barnes and DI Hayley Thurston, who have diligently and professionally investigated this attack, resulting in this guilty plea.

“And also to the officers from Response who came to Dave’s aid that day and saved him from Max Hallam – thank you."