John
04-11-2009, 05:12 PM
Police were called in the early hours of Saturday to reports of an aggravated burglary in Dagenham, east London, Scotland Yard said.
The suspects escaped the scene in a silver Chrysler, which failed to stop for officers in an armed response vehicle in Stratford town centre.
Police followed the vehicle in the direction of Leytonstone High Road and a male suspect made off on foot when it stopped briefly.
Shortly afterwards, the Chrysler was stopped in Ashlin Road, Newham.
It was then that an officer in his thirties left the armed response vehicle and sustained serious head injuries.
It is not yet clear how the officer - a member of the Met Police's CO19 firearms unit - was injured.
However, a Scotland Yard spokesman said he had not been shot or stabbed.
The police constable was rushed by ambulance to an East London hospital, where his condition was described as critical.
Two other officers, both Newham borough police constables, sustained minor injuries as the Chrysler rammed a marked police vehicle in a bid to leave the scene.
The three people in the Chrysler were arrested and taken to east London police stations where they remain in custody.
The trio - a 26-year-old man, 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman - were all unhurt.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Broster said: "We're investigating a serious incident that has left a police officer with life-threatening injuries.
"We are appealing for anyone with information or any witnesses to the incident in Ashlin Road to please come forward as soon as possible."
The suspects escaped the scene in a silver Chrysler, which failed to stop for officers in an armed response vehicle in Stratford town centre.
Police followed the vehicle in the direction of Leytonstone High Road and a male suspect made off on foot when it stopped briefly.
Shortly afterwards, the Chrysler was stopped in Ashlin Road, Newham.
It was then that an officer in his thirties left the armed response vehicle and sustained serious head injuries.
It is not yet clear how the officer - a member of the Met Police's CO19 firearms unit - was injured.
However, a Scotland Yard spokesman said he had not been shot or stabbed.
The police constable was rushed by ambulance to an East London hospital, where his condition was described as critical.
Two other officers, both Newham borough police constables, sustained minor injuries as the Chrysler rammed a marked police vehicle in a bid to leave the scene.
The three people in the Chrysler were arrested and taken to east London police stations where they remain in custody.
The trio - a 26-year-old man, 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman - were all unhurt.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Broster said: "We're investigating a serious incident that has left a police officer with life-threatening injuries.
"We are appealing for anyone with information or any witnesses to the incident in Ashlin Road to please come forward as soon as possible."