Officer believed man armed with knives was ‘potentially a terrorist incident’

A City of London Police officer who Tasered a man armed with two knives at the same time a colleague fatally shot him, believed at the time it was “potentially a terrorist incident”, an inquest heard.

The officer, who has been given anonymity and was referred to as BX221, discharged his Taser at Hassan Yahya at the same time as the 30-year-old was shot by another City of London Police officer, BX222, on March 8 2020 in Westminster.

The incident started on the South Bank at about 11.30pm and a Metropolitan Police officer tried to Taser Mr Yahya in Northumberland Avenue before he moved towards Great Scotland Yard.

At the time, the incident was not being treated as terror-related.BX221, giving evidence on Tuesday at Inner West London Coroner’s Court, said he believed at the time it was “potentially a terrorist incident” and in the back of his mind, Mr Yahya may have been EMD (emotionally or mentally distressed).

On police radios, the officer said he became aware of an incident unfolding and that a “male was armed with knives”.

BX221 said he heard on the transmission what he believed was “officers stabbed” and asked if he heard any clarification later, he replied “no”.

After arriving at the scene, BX221 got out of the back of the car and said BX222 got out of the front passenger’s door, before BX221 “ran around the back of the vehicle”, expecting to see BX222 at the same corner of the vehicle, “at which point I would’ve known we were deploying a contain for cover tactic”, he said.

But BX222 was standing by his door, with Mr Yahya standing by the corner of a bus.

BX221 described Mr Yahya as “holding two knives”, “moving backwards and forwards on his feet, looking backwards and forwards between me and back behind the buses which is where I believed the unarmed officers were”.

The officer said Mr Yahya was also looking at BX222 and described Mr Yahya’s movements as “quick” and “frantic” and appeared as if he was “looking where he was going to run to escape or who he was going to come towards”.

At that time, BX221 said Mr Yahya was holding the knives “clutched near his chest almost near his throat”, which made the officer consider he may be “trying to harm himself or others”.

BX221 said at that point, “at the forefront of my mind, this was still a terrorist incident”.

The officer said he armed his Taser, pointed it at Mr Yahya and began to give verbal commands when Mr Yahya made “an overt movement” in his direction and raised his arm above his shoulder while holding one of the knives.

BX221 was stood next to BX222, which he estimated was one or two metres away from Mr Yahya, and said he believed Mr Yahya was “trying to stab me”, adding: “I believed I was about to be stabbed and would potentially die from that and I remember firing my Taser as a reaction to that.”

BX221 said he pulled the trigger on his Taser at the exact same time that BX222 fired the shot, and initially BX221 thought the noise of the shot was from his Taser and something had gone wrong with it.

He said he realised shortly after that it was likely a shot was fired as well.

BX221 then saw Mr Yahya go into a “rigid state” before falling and then other officers restrained Mr Yahya.

“I thought he was resisting at that point because he was still moving and I could see officers reacting to that,” he added.

BX221 said he remembered seeing a number of punches and could see Mr Yahya’s legs moving, then BX221 moved forward and put his knee on Mr Yahya’s lower legs.

The officer said Mr Yahya was restrained and then given first aid.

Ifeanyi Odogwu, representing Mr Yahya’s family, put to BX221 that Mr Yahya “did not stand a chance” once he was confronted with BX221 and BX222, to which the officer replied saying he did not agree.

Asked if Mr Yahya looked “frightened”, BX221 replied “yes”.

It comes after the City of London Police officer who gave evidence on Monday, who has also been given anonymity, BX222, had not turned his body-worn camera on during the incident, which he told the jury was an “error” he has been formally disciplined for.

He said he thought his “life was in danger” before he fired one shot.

The inquest continues.