A man who seriously injured a Met Police officer by reversing into him with his car to avoid being arrested has been jailed for four years.
Bodyworn camera footage captures the shocking moment “dangerous” Joseph Ward, 24, rammed Inspector Tony McGovern while the officer rode a motorbike in north London.
He was later found to have carried out a string of other crimes - including impersonating a police officer in order to demand money from another driver.
Insp McGovern was on patrol in Haringey on July 1 last year, when he became suspicious of the way Ward was driving a car at the junction of Upton Road and Woolmer Road, Tottenham.
Video shows the officer speaking with Ward through his driver side window after the car came to a stop.
But when Insp McGovern asks Ward to switch off his engine, Ward suddenly pulls forward and reverses at speed into the officer’s bike, knocking him to the ground before driving away.
Insp McGovern called his colleagues for urgent assistance and was taken to hospital with injuries to his legs, shoulders and back, which still affect him today.
An urgent investigation was launched and Ward was identified as the driver.
Officers discovered he was already wanted for an earlier offence - which, on June 23 last year, saw him pose as a police officer and demand money from another driver on Eade Road, Finsbury Park.
Following a “complex” manhunt that lasted nearly three weeks, Ward was arrested in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, on July 20.
Investigators later linked him to two other offences, including a collision on Crouch Hill on July 5, and another incident the following day in which he failed to stop for police in Enfield, and damaged two patrol cars.
Ward was charged with 14 separate offences - including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, impersonating a police officer, dangerous driving and failing to stop for police - to which he pleaded guilty.
On Wednesday, Ward, of Green Street in Royston, Hertfordshire, was sentenced to four years in prison at Wood Green Crown Court.
Detective Chief Superintendent Lee Hill, who leads the Violent Crime Taskforce, said: “Joseph Ward is a dangerous man and I have no doubt that he would have gone on to commit more offences. I am pleased that he has received a custodial sentence and I praise Tony for his outstanding bravery.
“Our officers work tirelessly to protect the public from violent crime and we will never tolerate any form of assault on emergency workers, whose job it is to protect the public.”
Insp McGovern said: “I have been a police officer for 18 years and I never expected to be deliberately rammed off my motorbike in such a violent and aggressive act.
“I continue to recover from the injuries I suffered that day, however I remain determined to serve the people of London and remove violent and dangerous offenders from the streets.”
