Driver sentenced for deliberately driving into police officer in Stockport

A man who deliberately drove into a police officer in Stockport has been sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

Harvey Bell (12/08/2005), of Bennett Drive, Knutsford, was sentenced today (4/6/25) to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute and was disqualified from driving for two years, which will take effect when he is released.

The charges came after one of our officers was seriously injured during an incident at a retail park on Wilmslow Road, Cheadle, on Saturday 25 January 2025.

The female officer was left with injuries requiring hospital treatment after being deliberately hit by a car while investigating reports of class C drug use in a car park.

The police parked in front of an Audi and the officer signalled for Bell to remain stationary and turn the engine off. Instead, he reversed.

As the officer approached the front windscreen, Bell drove at the officer, knocking her to the ground and driving over her legs with both sets of wheels, before driving out of the car park at speed.

Bell was arrested the following day and made no comment in his police interview, but went on to plead guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and and possession of cannabis on 27 March 2025.

In a powerful victim impact statement read out in court, the officer said: “On Saturday 25 January, I donned my uniform and became a police officer, a role that I am immensely proud to do.

"By the end of my shift, I was in hospital, a victim of a violent assault that was equally despicable and totally unprovoked and needless.

“In my 16 years as a frontline officer, I have been met with violence - I have been punched, kicked and spat at, sometimes from the very people I am trying to help.

"Week after week, I put on my uniform, because despite the violence and the hate, it is still the most rewarding job, knowing that you have helped someone in even the smallest way, far outweighs the verbal and physical abuse from the few.

“I have always given the haters, the minority that kick and punch us, the benefit of the doubt. I felt that they don’t see me as a person, a mum, a nanna, they just see the uniform, the black vest.

“But this is just an excuse and should not give people the right to hurt and assault us. The uniform that I wear is often disregarded and treated with contempt.

“On that Saturday night shift, I was on routine patrol, and I was thoughtlessly mown down by Harvey Bell, simply for doing my job. There was no confrontation, just a simple request from a police officer to stop their car.

“Bell drove the vehicle straight at me, causing me to fall to the ground, he then, without a thought, drove over my legs, before leaving the scene at speed, not knowing if I was alive or dead.

“My injuries have healed, the pain will go away, but the trauma of watching those wheels drive over my legs, the feeling of helplessness gives me continuous nightmares to this day.

“I will never forgive Bell for the upset he caused my family; he was the reason why my daughters received the dreaded phone call to say I had been hurt. A call no family wants to receive.

“What he did to me is permanently in the back of my mind, every call I go to, I feel the apprehension, the fear that any incident no matter how innocuous it appears, can end with being assaulted or hurt. This is an unseen result of Bell’s assault on me.

“Thankfully, due to the support of my family, and my GMP family, Bell hasn’t been able to take away the thing I love doing the most - my job as a police officer. Each day I will go back out and put on my uniform and Bell will not take that away from me.

“I know that Bell’s abhorrent behaviour is an exception, and the majority of the public we serve do not wish us harm, but assaults on police need to stop.

“An attack on a police officer is an attack on us all. Bell is a danger to society and had total disregard for my life.”

Stockport Operational Policing Chief Inspector John Picton, said: “This incident was truly shocking and a terrifying ordeal for the frontline Response Police officer who sustained serious injuries.

"There was absolutely no need for this incident to have happened or to end in the traumatic way it did. It highlights how routine incidents attended by our frontline officers can quickly escalate into very dangerous situations.

"Our police officers work every shift, answering the publics call for help in their hour of need, responding to incidents and providing an outstanding service to the communities they serve, achieving fantastic results in situations that are often challenging.

"Assaults on our officers are completely unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.

"If you commit crime, we will find you and put you before the courts

"The officer received the appropriate support and care from her colleagues and welfare network during her ordeal and recovery.

"I am pleased to report that the officer has returned to full duties on the frontline, doing the job they love, protecting the community of Stockport.”