Face of Nation : A police officer was stabbed in a “frenzied” machete attack as he tried to stop a van east London. The PC – described as an “amazing police officer” – managed to Taser his attacker while being stabbed in the head and body. He is in hospital with multiple injuries but colleagues say he will recover. A man in his 50s was arrested at the scene in Leyton on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. Det Ch Supt Richard Tucker from the Met described the attack, which happened shortly after midnight, as “frenzied, unprovoked and shocking”.
The uniformed officers had attempted to stop the van for having no insurance on the junction between Coopers Lane and Leyton High Road. When they spoke to the driver he became “quite aggressive” then returned to his van before “a violent struggle ensued”, Det Ch Supt Tucker said.
The injured PC is a patrol officer who has been with the Met for about 10 years. Muhammad Faisal was woken up by the noise outside his flat and “saw someone lying on the road” with a police uniform beside him. “They were providing him assistance to his head. “We didn’t see the wound, but we saw a lot of blood,” he said. Insp Julia James said: “This was a sudden and brutal attack on a uniformed officer carrying out their duties.
“What began as a routine vehicle stop has transformed very quickly and unexpectedly into an unprovoked attack with a weapon.” Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted she was “absolutely horrified by the shocking stabbing”, while Sadiq Khan sad he was “utterly appalled by this sickening attack”. “This was an attack on a police officer, who showed tremendous bravery by continuing to defend others even whilst being attacked himself,” London’s mayor said.
