Officer was racing to knife attack when he killed young woman

A police officer who ran down and killed an aspiring social worker while racing to the scene of a knife attack at a Nando’s restaurant told an inquest his driving was ‘proportionate’.

PC Gary Watkinson was driving at 64mph in a 30mph zone on Warwick Road, Kensington, when he collided with Jade Mutua, 22, on 13 August 2019.

The social studies student suffered a brain injury, a broken back, neck, ruptured pelvis and broken leg when she was hit.

Paramedics managed to revive her but she died two days later at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington when the decision was made to switch off her life support machine.

PC Watkinson had blue lights on and sirens wailing as he hit 64mph in a 30mph zone after receiving a call of a knifeman attacking a woman at Nando’s in King Street, Hammersmith.

Miss Mutua came running into the road from a blind spot and she was launched 20-30 metres into the air following the impact, Inner West London Coroner’s Court heard.

PC Watkinson had expressed his extreme remorse to the family of Miss Mutua during the four day inquest.

He said: ‘I am so sorry about this and I really am, I am not the person I may have been depicted to be, I am ex-military, I did two tours of Afghanistan and Iraq.

‘I am not painting myself to be a victim at all but I would not wish this on anyone from both sides.

‘I have thought about this incident, everyday from the last four years, and I am not exaggerating there, it has ruined me.

‘I just really wish this accident had not occurred; I cannot stress enough how much I hate it.’

The inquest jury found that Miss Mutua suffered multiple injuries following a road traffic accident.

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said: ‘It has been harrowing for everyone, for you as members of the jury, for everyone who was involved at the scene, for the driver of the police car, but most importantly for the family and friends of Miss Mutua.

‘And I note that the father, Mr Laximidas, who has sat right through the pre-sentencing hearings, is too distressed to sit here today.

‘There is nothing else that can be said, because nothing else that can be said can bring back Jade, nothing can be said to reverse what happened.

‘There is nothing further for me to say, other than to thank you, members of the jury and I am exceptionally grateful for all the work you have given.

‘This has been a horrible death, it is always tragic when someone is lost in such tragic circumstances.’

PC Watkinson and colleague PC Tania Rebeiro were initially heading to Old Brompton Road to source some insulin for a suspect with diabetes they had arrested earlier that day.

But a call came in of a man attacking a lady with a knife in Nandos, Hammersmith, which prompted him to head there with blue lights and sirens.

PC Watkinson received the call at 21:51 that evening and made the decision to travel there at speed.

‘The information that I received was that somebody had called the police saying they were being attacked by a male and that the male has a knife.

‘If it is a call involving a knife, it could turn into a murder or be a terrorist incident.

‘I was involved in the London Bridge terror attack and when we get a call like that one with someone with a knife, we have to get there because we are duty bound to save life.

‘I waited 10 seconds and then said to my colleague ‘we are going to have to take that.’

PC Watkinson said he initially drove along Finborough Road at just 10mph before stopping at West Cromwell Road, even though he was on an emergency run.

From there, he headed back onto Warwick Road, where he ran over Miss Mutua.

‘I am now on this stretch of Warwick Road, I am very used to this road, I use It several times a shift,’ said PC Watkinson.

‘Warwick Road, the layout is such, it is a one way road, it is only going northwest.

‘There are no other vehicles ahead of me, to the left hand side there is a pavement, which was not often used because there was a building site there and it being night-time it would not have been in use.

‘There is a public house, which I know is there and I see.

‘On the right hand side there is pedestrian pavement but in front is a row of parked cars.

‘My thoughts at the time are that there are two people on the right hand side but they do not look like they are going to cross the road, they are walking.

‘I am looking at break lights, indicators, turn wheels, anything to indicate that a car is going to come into my path.

‘Warwick Road is not a narrow road for someone with my driving experience.

‘At this moment, I have decided that I can increase my speed and I have done.

‘To negate risk, I have chosen a central position in the road, that gives me the most distance in the road, so if someone is to step out, they have the best chance of seeing me and we have the best chance of seeing them.

‘I believe I was doing the necessary speed for the emergency I was going to.

‘As I progress up Warwick Road, Jade has come into my path, I have no warning, I remember seeing her, I remember thinking I cannot do anything here, I hit the brakes and I screamed and unfortunately we have collided.

‘When I first saw Jade, she was in the road.

‘I could not see her, it would not have been possible for me to see her.

‘She was running into the path that I was driving.’

Miss Mutua collided with the bonnet and then the windscreen of the car, which took 47.6 metres to stop due to the speed.

Cian Murphy, representing Miss Mutua’s father Jermaine Laximidas, asked whether PC Watkinson may have been in a ‘red mist’.

PC Watkinson replied: ‘Not in the least sir. I have had red mist before, more likely back in my military career.

‘Red Mist definitely did not play in this incident at all.

‘I know that should I get red mist, the first thing I will do is speak incredibly loudly and quickly.

‘There would not have been a 10-second gap between accepting the call and taking it.

‘It would have been immediately hearing it and then gunning it. Red mist was not a factor here.

‘Taking a call of this nature, I have had it before, it is not unusual to me.

‘There was no red mist at all.’

With PC Watkinson travelling at over 60mph, Mr Murphy asked him if that speed was truly necessary.

He replied: ‘I did not anticipate anyone coming into the road.

‘In my driving experience, having passed (the emergency driving course) in 2017 and since then, nobody has ever come into the road.

‘I was looking at the road to see what was ahead of me, I am a human being sir, red mist did not come into it, I was like a normal driver who is on a motorway, and we have all done it hitting 71, 72, 73mph.

‘I do not accept it was wrong (to do that speed), I have known officers to go faster, in the Met, there is no upper speed limit that a police officer should keep to on a blue light run, it is for you to judge.

‘I am comfortable with 60mph on that stretch of road in these conditions.

‘I have done it since, and I have had to, there was a call to a male stabbed in the throat, in the circumstances, you do have to go that speed sometimes.

‘There are other things that I did to try and mitigate, it was not a narrow road, I was as far from the parked cars and the other side of the road as I could have been.

‘I am not trying to blame her at all, but this was somebody who at the very last second ran into my path.’

PC Watkinson’s reaction time was 0.6 seconds, a time which Mr Murphy accepted was as fast as could be expected.

Mr Murphy asked the officer if he was just driving too fast.

PC Watkinson replied: ‘If I was driving my own car, or a lesser call or through a red light, then yes, but in this instance, the speed I was driving at and for the incident I was attending, the speed was appropriate.

‘I have been at multiple stabbings, I was there at the London Bridge attack, my victim had 17 stab wounds.

‘I would normally have gone faster than 60mph but it was proportionate.

‘It has never once been suggested I was at fault and even immediately after the incident, my instinct was that I have followed my training, I was acting under orders.

‘You have got to work diligently, you have got to take certain risks and this is unfortunately what happened sir, nobody has ever said I was to blame for this incident.

‘I have thought about this every single day since this happened, I am not trying to be dramatic, but I have been a broken man since.

‘My intention was to save life but the outcome is beyond words.

‘I wish the accident had not happened but I believe the speed I was doing was appropriate.’

Police Superintendent Dan Card told the hearing: ‘When you are the person being attacked with a knife you want the police there quickly and that is what we are trying to do – to get to places as quickly as possible.’

Summing up the case to jury the coroner explained that Mr Laxmidas was ‘too distressed’ to attend the final day of the inquest.

Ms Wilcox said: ‘I am sure you will understand the dreadful situation Mr Laximidas is in.’

He had complained about the delays in the case and the fact his daughter’s mental health had been raised during the inquest.

He was visibly upset as he told the court: ‘Jade was a bubbly lovely young girl. The car was speeding full stop. It’s been four years, delays, delays, delays.

‘The car was speeding full stop you can use all this language in the past that’s not what were here for, I’ve been waiting four years.

‘I’ve lost my daughter and that’s what you can come up with, mental health? Four years I’ve been waiting, my daughter’s been gone four years – we want to hear from the witnesses surely.’

Following the inquest Independent Office for Police Conduct regional director Charmaine Arbouin said: ‘My thoughts and sympathies are with Ms Mutua’s family, friends and all those affected by her untimely and tragic death, including the officers involved.

‘Our investigation found no indication that any Metropolitan Police Service officers behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or had committed a criminal offence.

‘However, we did identify the need for the Metropolitan Police to provide radio batteries which will last the duration of an officer’s full shift. On this occasion the officers had to return to their police vehicle in order to send a radio message to other units following the collision.’
ENDS