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A Mercedes driver who was caught on camera hitting a police officer with his car and leaving him cartwheeling on the road while trying to avoid arrest faces jail time for attempted serious bodily harm.
Aydin Altun, 26, of Tottenham, north London, was convicted yesterday at the Old Bailey, nearly a year after driving towards an armed Met Police officer investigating a Haringey shooting.
A trial at the Old Bailey heard evidence from the officer, who said he was “scared for his life” after the Altun attacked him with his Mercedes.
The armed policeman said he was ‘scared for his life’ when he saw Aydin Altun speed towards him in a black Mercedes.
The court heard that officers were investigating a shooting in Haringey on October 28 last year, having found an empty car with bullet holes.
A witness reported seeing a black Mercedes leave the scene.
The next day, officers spotted a black Mercedes on Tottenham High Road, and armed officers followed the car as it turned onto White Hart Lane.
When it stopped, partially on the pavement and stopped, a firearms officer approached the front of the car and yelled ‘armed police, show me your hands’.
The officer was thrown on the hood of Altun’s car near White Hart Lane, Tottenham, last October.
Altun, 26, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday after he was convicted of intentionally attempting serious bodily harm.
Closed-circuit television and video footage of the body that was played in court showed Altun driving forward at high speed, throwing the officer onto the hood.
The officer clung to him as the car sped toward White Hart Lane Station.
Altun tried to pull him out of the car zigzagging down the street.
After a few seconds, the officer somersaulted across the street onto the pavement, fortunately losing several items of street furniture.
The Mercedes started, but officers soon found it abandoned on Tiverton Road, with the officer’s cell phone still wedged between the hood and the windshield.
The officer lost consciousness and unconsciousness and received severe cuts to his head, elbow, knuckles and hand and was taken to hospital, but later released.
The officer said in court: ‘I remember being afraid for my life, I thought I was going to die. I remember thinking that if this car was going to crash, I would die. ”
Altun zigzagged down the road to try to pull the armed officer off the hood, while passersby watched in shock.
Despite being hit by a car in the middle of the day, there was little traffic on the road and the officer managed to dodge nearby street furniture by being thrown from the car.
On October 30, Altuin turned himself in to the Edmonton Police Station, after Scotland Yard launched a manhunt for his arrest.
Four men, two 17, one 18 and one 19, were arrested on October 30, 2019 on suspicion of helping a criminal. They were taken to North London Police Stations and subsequently released without further action.
Altun will be sentenced at the Old Bailey this Friday. He was found not guilty of possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life.
Altun’s mother, Sultan Altun, 54, and her sister Hanim Altun, 24, both from Tottenham, were also tried for perverting the course of justice and found not guilty.
Later, officers found the Mercedes abandoned, with the officer’s mobile phone still lodged between the windshield and the windshield wiper.
Bystanders rushed to the aid of officers as the car sped up, Altun to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, Met Operations, said: ‘We are only weeks away from the horrific murder of Sergeant Matt Ratana, I am pleased that a dangerous criminal who ran over an officer and put his life in danger has been convicted.
Fortunately, these incidents are rare, but being an officer in London can be difficult and officers can face dangers every day.
However, this does not stop the incredible, dedicated and professional men and women who don their uniforms, take to the streets of London and continue our mission to keep everyone safe.
“We do not tolerate any violence towards our officers and we relentlessly pursue anyone who assaults our officers to bring them to justice.
“These incidents and convictions strengthen our determination to eradicate and suppress violent crime in all its forms and make us more determined to protect our public.”
