On Friday 18th December, Vasile Alexandru, 30 of Pelly Road, Newham, E13 appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
In October, Alexandru had pleaded guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and assault on an emergency worker.
On Wednesday 20th May, officers were attacked when executing a search warrant at Alexandru’s home address.
The Met’s Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation Unit had suspected that the address was being used as a brothel. Because of this, officers were running an operation on it.
The occupants of the address were believed to be victims of modern slavery.
Early that morning, officers attempted to access the premises when they heard loud banging from inside and believed that someone might have been trying to escape or dispose of evidence.
The officer, in his 40s, used an entry tool, known as an enforcer, which then became lodged in the door.
As the officer tried to dislodge it, the glass in the window of the door was shattered from the inside, causing shards to hit his face, chest, arms and hands.
As the same time, the blade of an axe descended through the broken window.
A second officer at the scene sustained a puncture wound to his wrist after shards of glass hit him.
Both officers described seeing a bearded man through the shattered window.
When officers gained access to the premises, the man they had seen had disappeared. Three women were found inside and confirmed they were sex workers but were doing so of their own free will.
Alexandru was found a few minutes later, not far from the property.
He was arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm and controlling prostitution.
Detective Inspector Nigel Penny, from Central Specialist Crime, said:
“This case highlights the levels of violence that police officers and other emergency workers can face whilst in the execution of their duty.
“The message is clear that any levels of violence against our colleagues who serve the public and keep our communities safe will not be tolerated.
“That is supported by the courts, and we will always seek the full force of the judiciary to punish these offenders.
“The substantial custodial sentence passed down today reflects the severity of the attack on police officers doing their job and is a welcome reminder that our society will not tolerate such acts of violence.”
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