A police officer was stabbed in a “frenzied” machete attack as he tried to stop a van in east London.<\/p>\n
The PC – described by colleagues as “amazing” – managed to Taser his attacker while being stabbed in the head and body.<\/p>\n
He is in hospital with multiple injuries but the Met say he will recover.<\/p>\n
A man, aged in his 50s, was arrested at the scene in Leyton on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.<\/p>\n
Det Ch Supt Richard Tucker described the attack, which happened shortly after midnight, as “frenzied, unprovoked and shocking”.<\/p>\n
The uniformed officers suspected the van was being driven without insurance when they tried to stop it at the junction between Coopers Lane and Leyton High Road.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The injured PC is a patrol officer who has been with the Met for about 10 years.<\/p>\n
Det Ch Supt Tucker said: “He told me he was OK but that’s the type of character he is.”<\/p>\n
Muhammad Faisal, who lives nearby, said he was woken up by the commotion outside his flat and “saw someone lying on the road” with a police uniform beside him.<\/p>\n
“They were providing him assistance to his head,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t see the wound, but we saw a lot of blood.”<\/p>\n
Mr Faisal, a minicab driver, said he then saw the suspect being held face down on the floor before he was taken away in a police van.<\/p>\n
“All this time they were providing first aid [to the officer], or trying to stop the bleeding and giving him CPR,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Faisal said the officer began to move and speak to colleagues “after about five to seven minutes” but he initially feared he “had lost his life”.<\/p>\n
Insp Julia James said: “This was a sudden and brutal attack on a uniformed officer carrying out their duties.<\/p>\n
“What began as a routine vehicle stop has transformed very quickly and unexpectedly into an unprovoked attack with a weapon.”<\/p>\n
In the wake of the attack, pictures posted on social media<\/a> showed a heavy police presence<\/a> in the Leyton area.<\/p>\n The van stopped by the officers has been taken away from the street for forensic examination.<\/p>\n Home Secretary Priti Patel\u00a0tweeted<\/a>\u00a0she was “absolutely horrified by the shocking stabbing”, while Sadiq Khan sad he was “utterly appalled by this sickening attack”.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n Ken Marsh, chairman of the Met Police Federation, said it was “horrific news”.<\/p>\n “Police officers should be going home at the end of their shifts, not to hospital,” he said.<\/p>\n The Met has urged witnesses to contact them.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n