Convicted drug dealer Shayden Mullings said he “panicked” when an unmarked police car tried to stop him as he drove a stolen Lexus through east London on the afternoon of August 6 last year.
The 23-year-old led officers on a 12-minute chase in which he reached speeds of more than 100mph, drove on the pavement and on the wrong side of the road.
At a red light on the A12 he then ran over a traffic cop who was attempting to deploy a stinger device, sending the officer flying over his bonnet.
On Monday (January 27) Mullings, of Daventry Road in Harold Hill, was jailed for three years and ten months for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The crash took place on the A12 at the junction with Barley Lane (Image: Google)
‘Outrageous driving’
Prosecutor Babatunde Alabi told Snaresbrook Crown Court the Lexus driven by Mullings had been stolen from Hendon a week earlier.
Officers in an unmarked car followed it before putting on their blue lights and indicating to Mullings that he should pull over.
“At first the defendant appeared to slow down but then began driving at great speed on a roundabout,” Mr Alabi said.
Explaining why his client did not stop, barrister Christopher Harding said: “When he was 17 he was arrested on suspicion of murder and spent a lot of time in a police station before being no further actioned.
“Since then it feels to him that whenever something bad has happened in the area he’s often been swept up and arrested even when he hasn’t done something wrong.
“On this particular day when the unmarked police car behind him set their blue lights and sirens, he panicked.”
Mullings began driving at 60mph on 30mph residential roads before joining the A12 and hitting speeds of more than 100mph, the court heard.
“The manner of driving can only be described as outrageous,” Mr Alabi said.
A stinger operation was set up with the aim of ending the chase at the A12 junction with Barley Lane in Chadwell Heath.
As a police officer attempted to deploy the stinger equipment at the red light, Mullings veered back onto the road from the pavement and hit him.
Mullings then drove off and abandoned the car at an estate in Homerton Road, Hackney.
‘Very fortunate’
The officer was rushed to hospital with injuries including two bleeds on his brain as well as fractures to his skull and shoulder.
The injuries were described as “permanent and irreversible” and likely to cause long term issues.
The Met’s press office initially described them as “non life-threatening”, though Judge Leslie Cuthbert disagreed with that assessment.
“How can two bleeds on either side of the brain not be a life threatening injury? It was very fortunate there was medical assistance very quickly and he was taken very quickly into surgery.
“Were those injuries not dealt with so quickly this defendant may have been facing a much more serious charge,” the judge said.
In a moving victim personal statement, summarised by Mr Alabi, the officer said his life has changed forever.
He said his shoulder injury means he can no longer lift up his young son, play golf or return to frontline policing.
“He said he thinks about the incident several times a day and struggles to sleep,” Mr Alabi said.
Genuine remorse?
Mullings’ fingerprints were found in the Lexus and he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder the following week.
He made no comment other to deny any involvement in the incident.
Mullings was initially charged with grievous bodily harm with intent but later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge after the prosecution accepted he did not intend to run over the officer.
Mullings has never held a valid driving licence and when he was just 16 years old he was convicted of driving dangerously.
In 2020 he was jailed for more than three years for his involvement in a county lines drug supply route from London to Hertfordshire.
Mr Harding, acknowledging his client’s poor record, said: “He realises he has not done a very good job in the 23 years he’s had so far.
“He is sorry and doesn’t take this lightly. He wants, when he is released, to change.”
Judge Cuthbert, sentencing Mullings, said: “I question the genuineness (of your) remorse given you did not stop, denied being the driver until your plea and have now expressed remorse knowing no doubt you are facing a lengthy prison sentence.”
He sentenced Mullings to three years and ten months in prison, of which he will serve up to half before being released on licence.
“Had you chosen to admit your involvement at the outset, or stop after hitting the officer, you would have been looking at a shorter sentence,” Judge Cuthbert said.
Mullings will be banned from driving for four years after his release and must pass an extended driving test.
