A top lawyer who was wrongly targeted in a bungled hunt for a stolen car has said 'serious conversations' need to happen after his tyres were taken out with a stinger while he was driving.
Nazir Afzal was driving his son home from a late shift in Wythenshawe at around 11.30pm on Sunday evening (July 9) when he noticed a flashing light behind him. But before he was able to stop he saw something 'fly' in front of his car and deflate all his tyres.
Police say the mistake was made after an 'incorrect' report of a stolen car. But the former Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England said he was left 'shocked' by the blunder, which 'traumatised' his son.
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"I didn't know what was going on," he said. "The car stopped, and I realised there was an unmarked police car in front of us and another police car behind us."
Mr Afzal, who is Chancellor at the University of Manchester, said he told his 23-year-old son to keep his hands visible and stay in the car as officers approached the vehicle. But it didn't take them long to realise their mistake.
"I opened the door and one of the officers immediately said: 'I know who you are'," he explained. "They obviously worked out quite quickly that this wasn't a stolen vehicle, and also who was driving it."
Officers told Mr Afzal that a vehicle with a similar numberplate had been reported as stolen in the West Midlands but that one of the digits had been entered incorrectly - leading to Mr Afzal's car becoming a police target.
Mr Afzal said the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers offered to replace his tyres but well after midnight realised they couldn't get hold of the correct ones until the next day. He said they were 'really respectful' but the incident had 'destroyed' his sleep and left he and his wife without a car for the morning.
"There will have to be a conversation about what happened," he added.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: "At around 11.25pm on Sunday 9 July, officers from the Roads Policing Unit responding to intelligence from another force deployed a stinger device near Wythenshawe.
"A vehicle was brought to a safe stop, but enquires revealed the information provided was incorrect. Arrangements were made to recover both the driver and the vehicle, in addition to the replacement of the four tyres."
West Midlands Police has been contacted for comment.
