‘Good fortune a police officer has not been killed this week’, says Federation
Essex Police Federation says it is “good fortune” that a police officer was not killed this week “after colleagues were struck and injured by cars”.
Federation chair Laura Heggie said the incidents in Cheshunt and Harlow over the past four days were “shocking” and had potentially lethal consequences.
Ms Heggie said all officers sustained injuries – soft tissue and bruising – following the incidents, but luckily none are thought to be serious, although the mental scars on the officers will remain, she added.
On Thursday (July 15) two officers were injured and multiple cars left damaged after an incident at Cheshunt train station.
Essex Police said officers had tried to speak to the driver of a stolen vehicle and after being stopped, the car was driven off to the nearby station, up the train tracks before being dumped in between the stations in Cheshunt and Waltham Cross.
Earlier this week, an officer attempted to stop a car in Harlow but during the incident, he was struck by a vehicle, which then left the scene.
Essex Police said thankfully, the officer’s injuries were not life-threatening or life-changing and he was taken to hospital for treatment and is being supported by colleagues.
Mohammed Rahman, 24, of Lawrence Avenue, in Sawbridgeworth, has since been charged with dangerous driving, assault of an emergency worker, actual bodily harm, obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty, failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision, driving without insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
Ms Heggie said her message to people who might consider using cars as weapons against police officers was: “That moment of madness is going to have a consequence on the rest of your life.”
She added: “People need to be aware of the risks of what they do. Is it worth potentially killing someone for the sake of getting away from the police?
“Sometimes it goes from what is a minor offence to potentially someone losing their life.
“Thankfully, most people might never think of picking up a gun or a knife and using it on a police officer, but using a car against a police officer has potentially got the same outcome.”
Ms Heggie said that police officers “were out there bravely protecting the public and they should expect to return home safely at the end of their shifts”.
“Officers are doing their job, they’re out there doing what they’re paid to do and protecting the public. And these are another two examples of where officers are putting themselves in the way of danger. There should be no expectation that they go to work and get hurt,” she added.
Courts also had their part to play in handing down tough sentences to offenders who assaulted police officers, said Ms Heggie.
“The courts should take into account the seriousness of these incidents and the potential outcome, not just the actual outcome. The risk and the disregard people doing this show for police officers is shocking,” she said, adding that Essex Police Federation will be supporting the officers involved.