Dangerous driver on East India Dock Road is jailed

A MAN WHO failed to stop when requested to do so by police has been sent to jail for 16 months for committing a number of driving offences.

Shuahan Uddin, 27, of no fixed address, was driving a Mercedes A class motor vehicle along East India Dock Road at around 9.45 am on 15th April when police signalled at him to stop the vehicle. Police recognised the car as having links to an individual who was known for being involved in gang activity.

Instead of stopping, Uddin drove off – and police pursued him.  On a number of occasions police tried to use their own vehicles to bring the Mercedes to a halt – but Uddin rammed the police cars and drove on. Police eventually managed to box the Mercedes in against the central reservation of the M11 and brought it to a halt. Uddin ran off, and police had to use a Taser to stop him and effect an arrest.

Four police vehicles and a car belonging to a member of the public were damaged. One police officer suffered minor injuries.  Police later found out that Uddin was a disqualified driver and was under a Court ban drom being in the front seat of a vehicle.

Uddin was later charged with dangerous driving (over a period of 20 minutes), driving without a licence or insurance and causing criminal damage to motor vehicles.  He appeared at Thames Magistrates Court on 17th April and pleaded guilty to the charges. Earlier this month he appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was banned from driving for four years and elven months.

Police Constable Josh Haase, an officer who worked on the case, said, “Uddin was intent on evading arrest at all costs and showed a complete disregard for the safety of police officers and other road users. The considerable damage caused to the police vehicles means several police cars are off the road for a considerable time whilst they are repaired. This was a sustained period of dangerous driving that was extremely fortunate not to cause a serious injury so it is right that Uddin will now spend a period of time in jail. Road traffic officers will continue to deny criminals the use of our roads and will continue to put themselves at the forefront of protecting the public.”

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