Man jailed for five years for ramming police car with stolen van
Shocking dashcam footage shows the van speeding directly towards the police officers' car.
Saturday 21 April 2018 15:17, UK
A driver who rammed a stolen Transit van into a police car, injuring two officers, has been jailed for five years.
Greater Manchester Police released dashcam footage which shows the moment the van intentionally smashes into the police car head-on and then flees the scene.
Daniel Cowell, 25, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Friday.
The incident happened just after 3am on 5 September 2017, after police in an unmarked car gave chase to the stolen van.
Video footage shows Cowell speeding off at nearly 60mph and attempting to reverse into the officers' Audi.
He then turns around sharply and drives at speed towards the officers' car, as the GMP vehicle reverses at nearly 30mph.
The two officers, one of whom is an advanced police driver, were both injured and were forced to take time off work.
Just weeks later, the same officers spotted Cowell driving a stolen Renault Megane.
Patrol cars boxed in the Megane, but Cowell attempted to run them off the road again and fled.
He was eventually cornered and arrested after trying to run away on foot with a passenger.
A spokesperson for GMP, Sergeant Danny Kabal, said: "Cowell's actions during the two pursuits were nothing short of an attack on police officers who were just trying to do their job and protect the public.
"Not only did he take these vehicles that didn't belong to him but he then proceeded to use them as a weapon, putting innocent members of the public and officers safety at risk without giving it a second thought."
Cowell already had drug offences on record and had been banned from driving for his whole adult life.