London’s Metropolitan Police have released footage of a driver who intentionally slammed into an officer on a motorcycle in 2022.
The incident occurred last year on July 1, when Inspector Tony McGovern was on motorcycle patrol and noticed Joseph Ward acting “suspicious.” This caused McGovern to pull up alongside Ward and talk to him.
While footage released by authorities only shows a portion of the interaction and the audio is hard to make out, it appears McGovern asked Ward where he was going or what he was doing. McGovern eventually instructs Ward to shut off the engine, but he instead pulls forward in front of the motorcycle. He then quickly throws the Mitsubishi Outlander into reverse, hitting McGovern and knocking him to the ground.
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McGovern called for assistance and was taken to a hospital with injuries to his legs, shoulders, and back. Ward got away, but was identified by authorities who discovered he was already wanted for impersonating an officer and demanding money from another driver. Police also connected him to a collision on July 5 and an incident which damaged two police cars on July 6.
Ward was eventually arrested in Letchworth on July 20 and the Metropolitan Police said he ended up pleading guilty to 14 offenses including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, impersonating a police officer, dangerous driving, and failing to stop for police. Despite the serious nature of the offenses, Ward was given a seemingly light jail sentence of four years.
As for McGovern, he stated “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.” He went on to say he’s still recovering from his injuries but remains “determined to serve the people of London and remove violent and dangerous offenders from the streets.”
H/T to BBC News