Man thought he’d ‘outsmarted’ cops after ramming police car with BMW – he hadn’t

This is the shocking moment a suspect being pursued reverses into a police car then runs away.

Sohail Majid believed he could outsmart police by quickly getting into a taxi after the smash – but he was tracked down and arrested as he tried to reach Yorkshire. Arresting officers found the keys to the BMW car he was driving in his pockets.

Majid, 20, has now been convicted and sentenced, with the case originating from Greater Manchester Police’s ongoing Operation Vulcan crackdown on drugs, gangs and counterfeit goods in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas of Manchester.

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The force has released body-worn camera footage showing an officer telling Majid to turn his car engine off.

The pursuit begins and the officer provides a commentary as he drives. He makes a right turn before the car Majid was driving reserves into it.

The scenes played out on November 5 – GMP said Majid was spotted by an Operation Vulcan officer driving dangerously through Cheetham Hill. After failing to stop for police, a short pursuit ensued before he ran away.

A force spokesperson said: “Thinking he had outsmarted police, he got into a taxi and set off towards Thirsk.

“Working with colleagues from North Yorkshire’s Roads Policing Unit and resources from across GMP, Majid was tracked down and arrested with the car keys in his pocket, despite denying any knowledge of the incident which had occurred earlier that day.”

At Manchester Crown Court Majid, from Gainford Road, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, was jailed for 10 months, suspended for 18 months, and will also face four months on a curfew with electronic monitoring. He pleaded guilty to one count of driving a motor vehicle dangerously – and was also slapped with a two-year driving ban.

The offence covered the course of the short pursuit, along Bury New Road, Waterloo Road and Elizabeth Street, all in the Cheetham Hill area. Majid was arrested on the A1M near Catterick.

Inspector Dan Cullum, one of Operation Vulcan’s specialist officers, said: “Our officers acted quickly and decisively to stop Majid, who was driving dangerously, putting lives of the public at risk, and it didn’t take long to track him down and arrest him in North Yorkshire.

“Our ability to catch Majid and bring him to justice is another example of how we’ve ben able to tackle a whole range of criminality in Cheetham Hill as part of Operation Vulcan – including traffic offences, aggravated burglary, drug related offences, and trademark offences.”