Driver who ran over PC is jailed
16 October 2019
Car thief Mubashar Hussain was yesterday jailed for 12 years for knocking down and running over West Midlands traffic cop Gaz Phillips, leaving him critically injured.
PC Phillips (42) had three rounds of emergency surgery and spent four weeks in hospital after suffering multiple pelvic fractures and serious internal injuries in the horrific incident on Moorcroft Road, Moseley on 10 August.
Steve Grange, secretary of West Midlands Police Federation, has welcomed Hussain’s sentence.
“Police officers put their lives on the line as they go about their duties protecting the public. The very least they can expect is that those who deliberately attack them just for doing their job feel the full weight of the law,” says Steve.
“This was a shocking incident and PC Phillips’ injuries were life-threatening. This incident has had a huge impact on him and his family and will continue to do so. There is no certainty as yet as to his long-term prognosis but he is definitely facing more surgery in the future though he very much wants to return to policing.
“All too often we hear of assaults on police officers with an average of 25 a week in the West Midlands and, sadly, many of our members are coming to expect these attacks as being part of the job. That cannot be allowed to continue.
“While we appreciate the nature of our role puts us in some difficult situations where emotions can be running high, these deliberate and vicious attacks on officers have to be tackled. Perpetrators need to be suitably punished and hopefully this will act as a deterrent to others who seem to think it’s OK to attack a police officer.”
In a victim impact statement, PC Phillips revealed he blacked out in the incident but came round to ‘pain I can’t describe’.
He added: “I spent two weeks in intensive care and I’m told the first operation was ‘life-saving’. It’s too early to say what my long-term prognosis will be and I’m certainly facing more surgery in the weeks and months to come.
“It is unclear if I will ever be able to return to work - but being a police officer is a job that I love. It is something I have done for almost two decades, and I will do everything I can to get back into policing.”
PC Phillips was responding to reports of a car theft after a Range Rover Sport was taken from Warwick Road, Tyseley. It was tracked to Moorcroft Road with Hussain (29) at the wheel and fellow car thief Ahsan Ghafoor (24) in the front passenger seat. They were alongside another Range Rover stolen the previous day.
Ghafoor was arrested but Hussain, who had been banned from driving for four years in May last year, resisted and, despite being Tasered, forced his way past officers and jumped into an unmarked BMW traffic car.
PC Phillips clung to the driver’s door but was flung to the floor when Hussain slammed the car into reverse - and was left defenceless on the ground, when Hussain drove over him with both sets of wheels.
Hussain then drove around the Moseley area at speeds of up to 97mph before abandoning the vehicle 10 minutes later in Ladypool Road, Balsall Heath where he was detained by armed police.
It was yesterday revealed Hussain has four previous convictions for dangerous driving and has also been jailed for car theft and conspiring to steal motor vehicles.
He was initially charged with attempted murder but later admitted wounding with intent to resist arrest, plus other offences including dangerous driving, assaults against three other officers, driving while disqualified and two car thefts.
He was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday and will serve at least two thirds of his 12-year prison sentence. After the 12 years, he will spend another five years on licence and will be subject to recall to prison if he breaks the terms of his release.
Ghafoor, of no fixed address, admitted two counts of car theft and dangerous driving and was jailed for 28 months.
