Army veteran threw Molotov cocktails at police station after criminal record was revealed

A British Army veteran who threw Molotov cocktails at a police station after his criminal record was revealed has been jailed for three years.

Jamie Taylor, 34, previously admitted two charges relating to explosive substances and endangering life, and culpable and wilful conduct.

A court heard Taylor suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

The veteran, who has 11 previous convictions, took a taxi to Livingston Police Station in West Lothian on May 30, 2025, armed with four vodka bottles filled with petrol.

He lit one of them and threw it at five marked police vans parked outside. After the petrol bomb ignited, he hurled another explosive, which prompted Pc Kirsty Forsyth to run to extinguish the blaze.

Taylor then lit a third petrol bomb and threw it, causing flames which went above Pc Forsyth’s head, the court heard.

He pleaded guilty in November at the High Court in Edinburgh and was sentenced on Tuesday at the High Court in Stirling.

He admitted one charge of causing an explosion of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious damage to property, and another charge of ‘culpably and recklessly’ throwing a petrol bomb towards Pc Forsyth, which ‘exploded to the danger of her life’.

Judge Lady Ross sentenced Taylor to three years and six months in prison, with a 12-month supervision order imposed.

She told him: ‘Even though you were not aiming at her, you put Pc Forsyth’s life in danger. This was obviously dangerous and criminally stupid… You had a sense of grievance against the police in relation to another individual.

‘The police are not a faceless organisation, it is made up of responsible people who run towards danger. You were a soldier for eight years and experienced serious trauma…

‘You have complex PTSD. You understand what you did was wrong. You have made progress in prison and have the support of your mother.’

The Judge said due to the severity of the offending, Taylor had no choice but to serve prison time, adding: ‘It is very plain you need help, you need supervision and sustained care.’

Taylor had ‘self-discharged from the Army after his last tour of Afghanistan’, and while serving had seen ‘a close friend dying’ from an explosive device.

His lawyer said: ‘He has a criminal record, he has served his country, and suffered the consequences of serving his country. His life came crashing down when he was about to move in with his partner… he lost that as a result of his criminal record, and he also lost his job.

‘He thinks he might have been expecting the police would kill him. He has been vague about his motivations. This was a reaction about police informing his partner. I think he will have to accept that this was a motivation or provocation for his behaviour.

‘Were it not for his mental health issues, this offence would never have happened.’

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