Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley has branded the prosecution of an officer who crashed while driving to the scene of a terror attack as “appalling”.
Pc Paul Fisher, 46, made a “split-second error” when he lost control of his unmarked BMW X5 and ran into the back of a taxi driver’s Toyota before hitting a Ford Fiesta and a wall en route to the stabbing spree carried out by terrorist Sudesh Amman in Streatham in February 2020.
He was accused of dangerous driving but was cleared on Friday following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, almost four years after being charged.
Speaking outside the court following the verdict, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark said the case “undermines the confidence of all officers using their powers to keep the public safe”.
He added: “No other country in the world would haul one of its most highly trained officers before a court for responding to one of the most serious incidents we can deal with and doing their utmost to preserve life.
“I routinely hear from officers who avoid pursuits or indeed even being trained because they know their split-second, pressured decisions will be unpicked over many years. This case further undermines the confidence of all officers using their powers to keep the public safe.
“The system has to change.”
Ken Marsh, chair of the Met Police Federation representing rank-and-file officers added: “Frankly this case should never have got to court.
"It's perverse that a police officer doing the job the public would expect - namely courageously heading towards the danger of a terrorist attack - could find themselves in the dock with their career on the line.
“The public will rightly be appalled that brave police officers responding to a terrorist attack can be treated in such a manner.
"We must do better. Or we risk a society where police officers will be left questioning whether they should head towards that danger. That potential hesitation - caused by the hindsight brigade - will cost lives.”
Former Royal Marine Fisher, who reached speeds of more than 80mph, admitted he “let people down” but denied dangerous driving.
The police car which Fisher was driving did not have its blue lights on at the time because they had accidentally been switched off by one of the occupants, his trial heard.
The vehicle, which did have its siren on, had been switched to “arrival mode” and only had flashing rear red lights displayed, the court was told.
Fisher was responding along with two other armed officers in his vehicle to the stabbing spree carried out by terrorist Amman.
The 20-year-old grabbed a large kitchen knife from a hardware store on Streatham High Road in south London and stabbed two members of the public at random.
Little over a minute later, he was shot dead after pivoting to charge at two undercover police officers.
Fisher was on a surveillance operation at the time of the crash, monitoring Amman after his release from jail 10 days earlier.
Defending Fisher, Kevin Baumber said: “The last thing (he) intended was any kind of harm at all.
“Not all collisions are crimes.”
The drivers of the two vehicles which Fisher’s car collided with – a man and a woman – were left with minor injuries.
The female officer travelling in the back of the police car suffered a cut head and Fisher was bleeding from the ear after the crash.
The officer described the moment he found out the terrorist had begun stabbing people as “pandemonium”.
In a statement given to police, Fisher, who joined the force in 2010, said he believed Amman might be wearing a suicide vest and wanted to get to the scene quickly.
He continued: “The radio operator said ‘he’s stabbing people’.
“I had to use my driving skills to the maximum of my ability to literally save lives. I believed he would continue to stab people… seconds can make a difference.”
Fisher raced to the scene from Gipsy Hill Police Station before his vehicle crashed on a bend, the court heard.
He said: “I remember braking for the bend but the vehicle seemed to drift.
“I started emergency braking and steering to the right in an attempt to avoid the vehicle.
“The next thing I remember there was dust everywhere which had come from the airbags. The vehicle was still moving and there was a second impact.
“I was, and still am, annoyed with myself. I failed due to split-second error.”
Giving evidence, Fisher said: “At no point did my colleagues turn around and say ‘Paul you’re driving too fast’.
“If my colleagues had said ‘you’re driving too fast’ I would have stopped.
“It was my mistake, I failed that day. I let people down and I can only apologise for that.”
Asked by prosecutor Ben Lloyd if he wanted to get to the scene of the stabbing at “whatever cost”, Fisher replied: “I do not accept that.”
He added: “The whole way through the drive I had images of someone attacking people on Streatham High Road.”
Independent Office for Police Conduct regional director Mel Palmer said: “There is no doubt that PC Fisher was responding to a life-threatening incident in February 2020.
“A jury, having considered all of the evidence, has acquitted him of dangerous driving and we respect that decision.”
The CPS decided to take no further action against the driver of a second police vehicle, which was not involved in the crash but was in close proximity.
The IOPC said it will now consider the evidence from the trial and will be liaising with the force on the next steps.
