A raging driver rammed a police officer off his motorbike before speeding off in a horror hit and run.
Joseph Ward, 24, slammed into Inspector Tony McGovern in a desperate effort to avoid being arrested for more than a dozen offences including impersonating a police officer.
The disqualified driver reversed into the motorcycle cop and left him seriously injured on the road before driving off.
Insp McGovern had been on a motorcycle patrol in Haringey, North London, on July 1, last year, when he spotted Ward behaving suspiciously in a grey Mitsubishi 4x4.
The officer pulled Ward over and spoke with him through his driver side window after the car stopped.
Insp McGovern can be heard asking Ward to turn the engine off when the driver speeds forward before coming to a stop.
He then reverses back into the police officer, ramming him with considerable force before speeding away again.
Insp McGovern was left with injuries to his legs, shoulders and back, and called for urgent help from colleagues before he was rushed to hospital.
As the hunt for Ward began, officers discovered he was already wanted for demanding money from another driver in the same area around a week before the incident.
Following a manhunt, Ward was arrested in Hertfordshire on July 20, and was charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Insp McGovern and driving disqualified, then linked to two other offences relating to a car crash on 5 July.
Then, the very next day he had failed to stop for police in Enfield, North London, and damaged two police cars.
Ward, of Royston, Herts, admitted 14 offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, impersonating a police officer, dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.
He was jailed for a total of four years at Wood Green Crown Court.
Insp McGovern said: “I have been a police officer for 18 years and I never expected to be deliberately rammed off my motorbike in such a violent and aggressive act.
“I continue to recover from the injuries I suffered that day, however I remain determined to serve the people of London and remove violent and dangerous offenders from the streets."
Detective Chief Superintendent Lee Hill, who leads the Violent Crime Taskforce that McGovern was apart of, said: “Joseph Ward is a dangerous man and I have no doubt that he would have gone on to commit more offences.
“I am pleased that he has received a custodial sentence and I praise Tony for his outstanding bravery.
“Our officers work tirelessly to protect the public from violent crime and we will never tolerate any form of assault on emergency workers, whose job it is to protect the public.”
