A Mercedes driver who was caught on camera as he hit a police officer with his car and left him somersaulting down the road as he tried to avoid arrest is facing jail for attempted grievous bodily harm.
Aydin Altun, 26, from Tottenham, North London, was convicted at the Old Bailey yesterday, nearly a year after driving at an armed Met Police officer investigating a shooting in Haringey.
A trial at the Old Bailey heard evidence from the officer, who said he was ‘scared for his life,’ after the Altun drove his Mercedes at him.
The armed police officer said he was ‘scared for his life,’ as he saw Aydin Altun accelerate towards him in a black Mercedes
The court heard officers were investigating a shooting in Haringey on October 28 last year, having found an empty car with bullet holes in.
A witness reported seeing a black Mercedes leaving the scene.
The following day officers saw a black Mercedes on Tottenham High Road, and armed officers followed the car as it turned into White Hart Lane.
When it pulled over, partly on to the pavement and stopped, a firearms officer approached the front of the car and shouted ‘armed police, show me your hands’.
The officer was thrown onto the bonnet 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 found guilty of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent
CCTV and body worn video footage played in court showed how Altun drove forward at speed, throwing the officer onto the bonnet.
The officer was left clinging to it as the car accelerated towards White Hart Lane Station.
Altun tried to throw him off the car by zig-zagging across the road.
After a few seconds, the officer somersaulted across the road onto the pavement, thankfully missing various items of street furniture.
The Mercedes drove off, but officers found it a short time later abandoned on Tiverton Road, with the officer’s mobile still wedged between the bonnet and windscreen.
The officer lapsed in and out of consciousness and received significant grazing and cuts to his head, elbow, knuckles and hand and was taken to hospital but later discharged.
The officer said in court: ‘I remember being scared for my life, I thought I was going to die. I remember thinking if this car was going to crash, I was going to die.’
Altun zig-zagged along the road to try and throw the armed officer off the bonnet, as passers-by looked on 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 avoid nearby street furniture as he was thrown from the car
On October 30, Altuin handed himself into Edmonton police station, after Scotland Yard had launched a manhunt for his arrest.
Four men, two aged 17, one aged 18 and one aged 19, were arrested on 30 October 2019 on suspicion of assisting an offender. They were taken to north London police stations and were subsequently released with no further action.
Altun will be sentenced at the Old Bailey this Friday. He was found not guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Altun’s mother Sultan Altun, 54 and sister Hanim Altun, 24, both from Tottenham, were also on trial for perverting the course of justice and were found not guilty.
Officers later found the Mercedes abandoned, with the officer’s mobile phone still lodged between the windscreen and its wiper
Passers-by ran to the officers aid as the car sped off, Altun will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, Met Operations, said: ‘We’re just weeks on from the awful killing of Sgt Matt Ratana, I’m pleased that a dangerous criminal who drove at an officer and put his life in danger has been convicted.
‘Thankfully such incidents are rare but being an officer in London can be tough and officers can face danger every day.
However, this does not stop the amazing, dedicated and professional men and women putting on their uniforms, going out there on the streets of London and continuing our mission of keeping everyone safe.
‘We do not tolerate any violence towards our officers and we relentlessly pursue anyone assaulting our officers to bring them to justice.
‘Such incidents and convictions strengthen our resolve to root out and bear down on violent crime in all its forms and make us more determined to protect our public.’