Police officer left with serious injuries after being hit by e-scooter rider in London
31 July 2021, 21:10 | Updated: 1 August 2021, 09:39
A man has been arrested after an e-scooter hit a police officer on a busy London road leaving him with a broken leg.
Police were carrying out an operation targeting the illegal use of e-scooters in Willesden High Road, north London, at about 1pm on Sunday.
Officers had asked a man riding an e-scooter to stop, but instead he crashed into one of them.
The officer was knocked to the floor and treated at the scene before being taken to hospital. He suffered a broken leg and concussion.
A 22-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, assault on an emergency worker, obstructing a drugs search, failure to stop, dangerous driving, driving without a license or insurance, breaching the terms of a prison sentence and being unlawfully at large.
Unfortunately today an officer for Willesden Green SNT was seriously injured by a male on an eScooter. The rider has driven into the officer and then made off on foot. The male was eventually located and arrested for multiple offences
— Willesden Police (@MPSWillesden) July 31, 2021
Inspector Martin Robbie, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Officers put themselves in the face of danger on a daily basis and an incident like this demonstrates this.
"I would like to remind the public that the use of e-scooters, unless subject to a government approved scheme, is prohibited and use upon public highways and spaces will be subject to enforcement and potential seizure of the e-scooter."
E-scooters can be used on roads, in cycle lanes and on cycle paths, but are banned from being ridden on pavements.
Private e-scooters can only legally be used in the UK on private land but are a common sight on roads and pavements.
Last month, the Met Police said they had seized 507 private e-scooters over seven days.
Around 1,200 e-scooters are available to rent in the capital across nine boroughs.
