'I have never been so scared': Cop's terror after fearing he'd been blinded in one eye by Manchester United thug

A veteran police officer said he’d ‘never been so scared’ after he temporarily lost the sight in one eye after being hit in the face by a glass bottle.

Sam McNulty threw the bottle during ugly scenes outside Old Trafford as protesters descended ahead of a Premier League clash between Manchester United and Liverpool. The game, which was due to be played behind closed doors due to Covid regulations at the time, was eventually abandoned due to security concerns after some demonstrators broke through perimeters at the ground and invaded the pitch.

Up to 2,000 people attended the ground to voice their protest against the ownership of the club by the Glazer family and rumours United were considering joining a European super league. Bottles and cans were thrown. In total, 35 assaults against officers and security staff were recorded.

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One police officer was kicked in the testicles. Dozens of other men have already been hauled before the courts for their part in the disorder.

PC Jonathan Gallagher, an officer with 16 years experience who works within Greater Manchester Police’s Tactical Aid Unit, suffered the most significant injury on May 2, 2021. He was part of a team of officers dealing with the trouble at Old Trafford that day.

One of the protesters was 29-year-old telecommunications worker McNulty, from Wirral in Merseyside. He had thrown a can which hit a wall near officers.

McNulty then put his hood up, picked a glass bottle from the floor and threw it. Standing about 10 metres away, the bottle hit PC Gallagher to the face. He recalled ‘everything going black’ and feeling ‘terrified’ that he couldn’t see out of his left eye.

“I have never been so scared as I was when I couldn’t see out of my left eye,” he later said. “I really thought I had lost my sight.” He bled heavily from a cut to his face and was rushed to hospital. The sight in his eye resumed shortly after. But he has suffered permanent scarring and ongoing health issues, including sleeping problems.

McNulty was arrested and provided a prepared statement to police, in which he said he thought he was attending a peaceful protest, which he went to for a ‘day out’. He said he became aware of the incident and said he did not know why he got involved.

He accepted throwing the two items but said he wasn’t aiming for anybody and had no intent to cause injury. McNulty also said he wished to apologise for his actions. He pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding at the magistrates court in 2021. He denied the more serious charge of wounding with intent.

But there were extensive delays in the case reaching trial, after the case was repeatedly adjourned due to a lack of court time, or due to strike action undertaken by barristers in 2022. McNulty eventually went on trial earlier this year, and was found not guilty of wounding with intent.

He was sentenced on Friday. The judge, Recorder Karen Ridge, told McNulty: “It has been accepted by this court that you didn’t intend to cause harm to PC Gallagher, but you did cause him harm. There can be no doubt that this incident had had a profound effect on PC Gallagher.

“The incident must have been truly terrifying. PC Gallagher is a public servant. It is shocking that he has sustained such a terrible injury during the course of a normal working day. On that day he thought he had lost his sight. This is a dedicated police officer with 16 years service who now suffers flashbacks.”

Defending, Eve Salter said that McNulty has remained in full time work since 2021, and has been involved in no further trouble since. She said that at trial McNulty repeatedly told jurors how 'appalling’ his actions were and stated how regretful he is.

“He has never shied away from his involvement in these offences,” she said. Ms Salter said the delays were not the defendant’s fault, and appealed for him to be spared from a prison sentence.

The judge agreed, noting that McNulty had no previous convictions and ruling he is capable of being rehabilitated, describing him as a ‘productive member of society. “There is no public interest at this time in sending you to prison,” Recorder Ridge said.

McNulty, of Windermere Road, Prenton, Wirral, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. He was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work, ten rehabilitation activity requirement days, and observe a curfew from 8pm to 6am for four months. He was also ordered to pay PC Gallagher £5,000 in compensation.