King’s Lynn man Joseph Weirich in court after emerging from home clutching knives

Police were forced to turn their tasers on a man after he emerged from his home clutching two kitchen knives.

Joseph Weirich, 31, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. He pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating an emergency worker, as well as possessing a bladed article in a public place.

Crown prosecutor Nicola Lamb told the court that on August 13, police were called to Weirich’s home address at Old Sunway in Lynn to assist ambulance staff in retaining him.

He had retreated into his home, but they noted he had blood on him – with one constable entering the property because they feared for his welfare.

Weirich shouted at officers, telling them to leave and to “f*ck off”. They did eventually persuade him to vacate his home – but when he emerged, he was carrying two kitchen knives.

One officer readied a taser behind their back, but Weirich then “used the knives on himself” – leading to him being incapacitated by police using the devices.

He assaulted an emergency worker while being transported to an ambulance, kicking out at a police officer and injuring her little finger. This led to her being placed on restricted duties.

Then, while in the ambulance, he kicked out at another officer while turning over on a stretcher.

Mitigating, Ruth Johnson said Weirich used his police interview to “express significant remorse” for his actions.

“He felt dreadfully at the fact that the officer had to be placed on restrictive duty,” the solicitor said.

She added that Weirich is starting to “recover physically” from the incident himself, but his mental recovery is “ongoing” – and asked magistrates to adjourn the case for a pre-sentence report to be carried out.

The bench, led by Terrance Geater, agreed – and released the defendant on unconditional bail until November 29, when he will return to court for sentencing.