DRAGGED FROM CAR
Dramatic moment cops armed with Tasers tackle asylum seeker, 30, who ‘drove at Parliament officers to cause maximum death and injury’
FOOTAGE of the dramatic moment cops armed with tasers tackled an asylum seeker who allegedly drove his car at officers outside parliament has been shown in court.
Salih Khater, 30, is accused of driving at cyclists before aiming his Fiesta at police intending to cause "maximum death and injury" in August last year.
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Police body cam footage shows officers arriving at the aftermath of the incident to see the car crashed into a set of security barriers.
Cops pull Khater from the car looking dazed before putting him in handcuffs and arresting him.
Khater, from Birmingham, is currently on trial at the Old Bailey charged with two counts of attempted murder.
He has not yet been linked to any terrorist group, but prosecutor Alison Morgan QC, said that the nature of the attack suggested a "terrorist motive".
The court heard that Khater had scouted out the Whitehall area before carrying out the attack.
CCTV footage also showed the attack itself, which left cyclists trapped and "screaming", with two of them later needing hospital treatment.
'SURELY IT'S GOING TO STOP'
One commuter described to the court being hit by the car himself while walking to work before watching the incident unfold.
Two officers also had to dive out of the way of the vehicle before it hit the security barrier.
Paul Brown said: "I was struck a glancing blow on my right hand side and that knocked me sideways and I landed on the ground on my left hand side.
"The view from the floor was I saw the cyclists scatter as the car headed towards them.
"I heard a bang which I didn't know whether it was an explosion or impact.
"I was slightly dazed, the police turned up very quickly afterwards."
Mr Brown escaped the incident with minor cuts and bruises.
Anya Breen, a cyclist who suffered a fractured collarbone and punctured lung in the attack, told the jury: "I saw [the car] coming round the roundabout, I saw it turn towards the wrong way down the road, effectively on our side of the road.
"It was being driven, it seemed to me, really consistently - at the same speed."
"I don't remember the impact, I remember up until it was quite close and then the next thing I remember is I was on the ground.
"I remember just thinking, 'This is happening,' and it was a process of, 'Surely its going to stop? Surely its going to turn the other way?'"
'MIRACULOUS NO-ONE WAS KILLED'
Witness Nicola Toner described seeing Ms Breen being hit: "The girl appeared to be in a lot of pain, she was screaming and couldn't get up."
Prosecuting, Ms Morgan said it had been "miraculous" that nobody had been killed.
Khater arrived in the UK in July 2010 after fleeing his home country of Sudan, travelling via Libya, Greece and France before claiming asylum here.
The Home Office granted him leave to remain after he claimed he had been tortured by Sudanese government forces.
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Khater denies the charges against him.
The case continues.
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