Van driver who ran over police officer jailed

Police constables Dan Parr and Stephanie Catterall had approached the van on Hewitt Avenue, Eccleston on the evening of Tuesday, May 17 this year.

Prosecuting, Nicola Daley, told Liverpool Crown Court that the officers became “suspicious” about the van just after 8pm after a “canvas bag” containing cannabis and £3,450 in cash had been found abandoned nearby at the junction of Mulberry Avenue and St Luke’s Road.

She said: “Umar Anwar was the driver of a white Transit van and Ahmmad Anwar the passenger.

“PC Parr and PC Catterall attended the scene and put the hold all into their vehicle and almost immediately their attention was drawn to a white van parked nearby. Because of its movements they were suspicious it may have had something to do with that hold all.”

Ms Daley said there has been “no forensic evidence linking them to” the canvas bag.

Ms Daley added “there was a smell of cannabis” when officers attended the van and “initially when the officers tried to speak to them the van drove at a normal speed, not necessarily trying to evade at that stage.

“But the officers followed that vehicle” and as it parked on Hewitt Avenue “approached the vehicle, one went to one side and one to the other”.

The court was told “PC Parr opened the passenger door, informed both defendants” they were to conduct a “drugs search”.

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Ms Daley added: “Umar Anwar reacted by putting the van immediately into gear and began then to drive away. By that stage PC Parr’s arms were already inside the van and it is clear the door was open, he was unable to move away and was dragged along and ran over by the rear wheels.”

CCTV footage was played to the court which showed PC Parr being dragged along the road and the back wheels running over the top of his legs, leaving him lying in the road in “significant pain” and neighbours “heard screams” and came out to attend to him.

Ms Daley said the Transit van was “abandoned nearby and both defendants ran away across nearby fields. While trying to escape arrest, Ahmmad Anwar dropped a quantity of vcannabis which was within an Asda carrier bag.”

Ms Daley also told the court that 107.5 grams of cocaine was also found by police in Ahmmad Anwar’s Rochdale home.

She said Umar Anwar had previous convictions, including receiving a suspended sentence in 2015 for robbery and had previously been disqualified from driving twice due to totting offences.

Meanwhile, Ahmmad Anwar had previous convictions for drugs possession.

Ms Daley said the injuries PC Parr had suffered included a dislocated shoulder, for which require surgery, a fractured wrist, tissue injuries to his right leg, cuts and grazes to his left arm and cuts and a lump above an eye.

PC Parr, who continues to suffer pain, has had to spend five months off work, due to return to “light duties” later this month, the court was told.

Meanwhile, PC Catterall, “although didn’t suffer significant injury, she also suffered some injuries” and “has been in pain as well.”

Liverpool Crown Court

Umar Anwar, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Liverpool, Knowsley and St Helens Magistrates' Court to causing serious injury to PC Parr by dangerous driving.

The 31-year-old, of Birkdale Road, Rochdale, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment by judge Recorder Ian Harris.

Meanwhile, Ahmmad Anwar, 27, of Deeplish Road, Rochdale, was sentenced for possession of cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply to four years in jail.

Co-defendant Ahmmad Anwar, was jailed for four years for drug dealing (Image: Merseyside Police)

Passing sentence, the judge described Umar Anwar’s offence as an “appalling incident” and said he had made a “clear attempt to evade apprehension”. The judge added he “failed to have regard for other road users and a deliberate action to get away from police who were on foot and vulnerable acting according to their public duty on behalf of the law-abiding public.”

He said of Ahmmad Anwar he “had an operational role” in drug dealing and “must have had some awareness of the operation” adding controlled drugs “cause severe problems for users” and have “a corrosive effect on communities”.

Defending Umar Anwar, Cheryl Mottram said her client had been in St Helens for a “legitimate job” in which “there is an app similar to Uber” through which jobs for him came through.  

She added he is “extremely remorseful for what he has done” and in custody had “worked in a visitor centre shop” and can “become a productive member of society”.

Defending Ahmmad Anwar, Jonathan Rogers said his client had been previously diagnosed with “drug induced psychosis” and “schizophrenia”.