Moment cops ram moped thug off the road and spray him with high tech ‘water pistol’ to stop him evading justice
THIS is the dramatic moment a suspected moped thief is rammed off his bike by specialist cops after a high speed chase through London.
Dashcam footage shows a ‘Scorpion Squad’ cop ploughing into the moped as he carries out “tactical contact” on a busy street in front of stunned pedestrians.
The controversial manoeuvre was brought in last year after the country was gripped by a violent wave of moped muggers swiping phones, watches and bags.
It was filmed for a Channel 5 documentary that captures the Metropolitan Police’s special taskforce, Operation Venice, as they try to crackdown on the crime.
Cops can be seen racing to catch the moped rider as he swerves through the streets of London.
Seconds later, the driver attempts to move around a police car but he smashes into the bonnet and crashes to the ground.
As he makes a daring bid for freedom, cops can be seen spraying him with a high tech “water pistol”, which marks moped thugs with invisible liquid that can later be used to link them to a crime.
TACTICAL RAMMING
The forensically-tagged liquid called SelectaDNA clings on skin, clothes and vehicles for three months and glows under UV light.
Several officers can then be seen forcing the suspect to the ground before he is arrested on suspicion of five offences, failing to stop for police, suspected theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a class a drug with intent to supply, failing a roadside drug test and dangerous driving.
One officer tells Snatch and Grab: Moped Gangs on the Rampage: “We have no desire to knock them off and cause any injury to them.
“However, that is a tactic that is available to us. If it is appropriate for us to use it, we will use it.”
The Scorpion Squad - How 'tactical' ramming was unleashed against gangs
Scotland Yard introduced the bold new tactic of ramming moped thugs in October 2017 as part of a crackdown on the alarming rise in moped crime.
Dramatic footage released last November showed Scotland Yard’s “Scorpion” pursuit teams hitting mopeds and sending suspects sprawling over car bonnets and flying across the tarmac.
Senior officers defended the tactic, saying it was needed to stop dangerous chases and has helped reduce moped-enabled crime in London by over a third.
The manoeuvre has also been backed by Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick also backed the tactic, saying cops had to “put fear back into the criminal”.
However, under existing laws, cops chasing moped thugs are subject to the same legal test for careless and dangerous driving offences as members of the public.
Even if they escape prosecution, cops can be investigated for gross misconduct and sacked.
Cops who face charges often have to wait years before having their names cleared.
The Home Office has insisted it is “reviewing” the law to give officers greater protection but critics said they must push through new legislation as a priority
The documentary also interviews members of moped gangs who commit crimes and vigilantes who risk their lives to hunt the yobs.
Scotland Yard introduced the bold new tactic of ramming moped thieves to widespread acclaim after violent gangs wreaked havoc on the streets of Lawless London in a terrifying crime epidemic.
The growth of moped crime – in which some criminals have stolen up to 30 phones in an hour – has exploded by 1,000 per cent across the UK in the past three years.
MOPED MUGGINGS PLAGUING UK
And Lawless London has seen the highest spike in moped muggings, where over 19,000 separate offences were recorded last year alone.
Victims are often targeted as they’re coming out of tube stations and other transport hubs where they’re more vulnerable to attacks.
Thieves snatch handbags, watches and other expensive items before making an easy getaway.
Cops had been criticised due to a widespread belief that they weren’t allowed to pursue a suspect on a moped if they weren’t wearing a helmet.
But proposed changes in the law make it explicit that specially trained police drivers can chase a rider without a helmet.
Forces have previously unveiled other tactics to fight moped crime, like automatic tyre deflation devices and DNA tagging spray.
The spray marks the clothes, bikes and skin of riders with a uniquely-coded but invisible DNA that can later be used as forensic evidence linking suspects with specific crimes.
And the tactics appear to be working – while there were 19,455 offences of moped crime in London between January and October last year, the same period has seen 12,419 offences this year – a reduction of 44 per cent.
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Snatch and Grab: Moped Gangs on the Rampage in on Channel 5 tonight at 10pm.
