: Turkish-trained doctor threatens police with knife after making repeated calls to emergency services
A TURKISH doctor who repeated dialled 999 and then threatened police with a knife when they came to investigate has been spared jailed.
Bulent Alkurt, 46, made 11 phone calls to the emergency services from his home in Leyton on 28 March, threatening the operators and calling them ‘English c**ts’.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard from prosecuting counsel Margia Mostafa that two police officers subsequently visited attended his home “to offer him some advice”.
But, Ms Mostafa told the court, “As they were leaving, Mr Alkurt stuck his head out of his window and starting yelling ‘English c**ts’ at them.
“They returned to the property where Mr Alkurt was waiting holding a 12-inch kitchen knife.”
They eventually used a CS spray to subdue Alkurt. One officers later said he had never felt his life was more in danger in his entire career than at that moment.
As he was being handcuffed, Alkurt assaulted PC Daniel Cooper by spitting in his face.
Ms Mostafa said: “He describes himself as being particularly drunk, and that changed his disposition, he admitted that he wasn’t well.
“He says that when he drinks he gets bad memories and can’t control what he says, he was asked about the 999 calls first of all, and he said they weren’t from him.
“When it was pointed out they were from his mobile phone he said he was sorry, and he said he couldn’t remember the incident with the kitchen knife, he also said he was on a lot of medication at the time.”
Alkurt trained as a doctor in Turkey but does not practice in the UK. He has previous convictions for criminal damage and for using public communication networks to cause annoyance dating back to 2006.
Sarah Iskarous, the lawyer defending Alkurt, told the court: “He’s on quite a number of drugs – anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, sedatives and vallium.
“His girlfriend of three and half years died unexpectedly in 2006, followed by a very violent assault on Mr Alkurt – I understand that’s where the issues start.”
Judge Peter Susman handed him a two month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He told Alkurt: “I think the appropriate way this court should deal with you is by a suspended sentence.”
“You have a persecution complex which may or may not have its origins in real past wrongs done to you, but what I’m concerned with is not the origins of your problems but how they manifest themselves now.
“You are clearly a very intelligent man, but you mental health problems have got you into a number of similar circumstances, and this behaviour has got to stop but you need help.”
Alkurt was earlier given a conditional discharge for using public communication networks to cause annoyance in relation to his threatening and abusive 999 calls.
He admitted affray and battery this year.