Man who stabbed officers jailed for life

Twenty-five year-old Mohammed Rahman, of Westbourne Park Road, West London, must serve a minimum of 20 years after he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday (December 8) at Kingston Crown Court.

Detective inspector Ollie Stride who led the investigation said: “Today’s sentencing of Rahman for the attempted murder of PC Joe Gerrard and the serious injury of PC Alannah Mulhall reflects the seriousness of his offences.

“The courage and bravery of Joe and Alannah, as well as the medical intervention of their colleagues, firearms officers and paramedics, prevented a much worse outcome.

“This was a real team effort by the first responders, firearms officers, specialist uniform colleagues, paramedics and medical staff. as well as the investigation team with the support of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and prosecution counsel. I would like to thank all of them.”

David Malone, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London South, said: “This was a shocking and horrific incident that highlights the courage required to be a frontline police officer. My thoughts are with those officers who were injured protecting our community.

“May I also pay tribute to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) for a meticulous investigation and to the prosecution team who worked tirelessly, building a strong case to bring this dangerous individual to justice.

“I hope this case sends out a clear message to those who carry knives and plan to harm others. You will be caught, and you will be prosecuted, whenever our legal test is met.”

At around 6am on September 16, 2022, two officers were on patrol in the area of Leicester Square. Both officers, from the MPS Central West Command Unit, were dealing with another incident when they were approached by a member of the public who told them that a man nearby was in possession of a knife and had robbed him of his mobile phone.

The two female officers quickly located the suspect and approached him. Rahman refused to cooperate with the officers and suddenly lunged towards them. The man then ran off, pursued by the two officers.

Two more officers arrived, responding to the urgent calls for assistance, but when they tried to arrest the suspect, he stabbed one of the female officers, PC Mulhall. The stab wound was to her right upper arm and cut through the muscle down to the bone.

The MPS said repeated attempts were made to detain the man, but his level of violence towards the officers meant that further assistance was needed.

“When further officers arrived they tried to arrest him, but he then stabbed a male officer, PC Gerrard, causing serious injuries,” the force said.

“This officer received five stab wounds to his head, arm and chest. The most serious was a wound to his chest, which punctured a lung. It was only through the work of paramedics that the chest injury did not have more serious consequences.

“A third officer received a slight wound to his finger, which although it caused significant bleeding, was not as serious.

“Through courage and determination the officers were finally able to arrest Rahman.”

Rahman was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court in September of the attempted murder of one police officer, and GBH with intent against a second officer. He was also convicted of possession of a bladed article, assault (ABH) and two counts of threatening a person in a public place with a bladed article – these charges relate to three other police constables.

Rahman was also convicted of the robbery involving the member of the public.

The two officers who were stabbed were taken to hospital where they underwent surgery for their injuries. Both returned to duty earlier this year, the MPS said.

Due to the severity of the injuries sustained by the officers, an investigation was launched by detectives from the Specialist Crime Command.

They carried out extensive inquiries to gather as much evidence as possible and recovered CCTV footage from the area. This captured the initial report of Rahman being seen with a knife, the officers being attacked and his subsequent arrest.

“The officers’ harrowing body-worn video was also closely reviewed and captured Rahman’s prolonged attack on the responding officers,” said the MPS.

Rahman was charged the day after the attack.