Two officers badly injured during arrests at the weekend

One officer sustained serious injuries to his ankle and hip as well as head injuries when he was struck by a car following a police pursuit.

The other suffered a suffered a broken finger when he was assaulted during the arrest of a suspect in West London.

In the first incident, officers on patrol in Croydon began pursuing a vehicle when it failed to stop after it was spotted being driven erratically.

“The car, a Mercedes, stopped briefly in Lindfield Road, Croydon at 9.06pm,” said the MPS. “The driver then rammed the police car before colliding with an officer who was on foot. The officer, a male police constable, sustained serious injuries to his ankle and hip as well as head injuries. He remains in hospital.

“The Mercedes was driven recklessly away from the scene, stopping when it collided with a garden wall. The driver ran away, but was pursued on foot and detained moments later by officers from the Met’s Violent Crime Task Force.”

A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm on the officer, dangerous driving, failing to stop and aggravated taking and driving away of the Mercedes. He was also found to be in possession of a quantity of crack cocaine.

In a separate incident at around the same time, officers were called to two men behaving suspiciously near bins in Clandon Close, Acton at 9pm.

“The men were thought to be storing or accessing weapons, so officers from the Met’s West Area BCU attended as part of concerted efforts to protect Londoners by keeping weapons off our streets,” said the MPS.

“Officers attended and located the two men. One of the men became aggressive towards the officers and a male police constable suffered a broken finger as he detained the suspect.”

Both men were arrested and taken into custody; a 28-year-old man on suspicion of assaulting the officer and a 51-year-old man on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon after a crowbar was found nearby.

The officer has been discharged from hospital, but his hand injury will require ongoing treatment, said the MPS.

Superintendent John Tibaldi said: “Both these incidents show that Met officers are committed to keeping Londoners safe – not only by responding to emergencies and other reports of crime but through targeted patrols and taking positive action to prevent crime in the first place.

“Police officers routinely put themselves in harm’s way on a daily basis, dealing with dangerous situations and violent people.

“Tackling violent crime is the Met’s top priority, and that includes dealing robustly with those who assault our officers and other emergency workers.”