A BRAVE cop was “thrown to the wolves” as he faced a two year probe after taking down a moped mugger fleeing with a handbag.
PC Edwin Sutton moved his marked car into the path of the moped being ridden by a 17-year-old boy to stop him speeding off.
He was accused of breaching professional standards by using a “dangerous” method to stop the boy – known only as Mr G – in May 2017.
This week he was cleared of all allegations, but went through “hell and back” during the long probe.
PC Sutton, who said he wanted to protect the public from a high-speed chase, faced the sack from the Met Police over his actions, but was found to have acted “conscientiously”.
The cop, who has worked for the Met for 30 years joined when he was 19.
Following the incident – which saw the teen taken to hospital but not left seriously injured – he was consigned to desk duty.
For a two-year period he feared he would lose his job and pension while waiting for the case to be heard – but this week was cleared.
A close friend told the Daily Mail: “As a child he always wanted to be a policeman.
“He is someone who loves his job and is passionate about doing the right thing and helping others.
“If he was a criminal and it took two years to get to court, it would have been an abuse of process. It is two years wasted and gone. The stress has taken a toll on his health.
“I remember him being taken to hospital on one occasion with symptoms similar to a stroke. It was very frightening for his family.”
Giving evidence, PC Sutton said the youths weren’t moving when he first spotted them, and suspected one was carrying a stolen bag.
He said he aimed to close the gap between lanes before getting out and stopping the rider, but he moved through too quickly.
In the wake of the officer’s ordeal the head of the Police Federation in London slammed the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct).
Ken Marsh said: “I’m over the moon for him because he’s been through hell and back over the past two years for doing his job.
“Why are they putting our colleagues in this position? This was a policy of the IOPC.
“It should never have come to this.
“Going forward we need legislation put in place in which it’s very clear for all my colleagues to go out and do their jobs.
“If not it will get to the point where we are not going out and protecting the public anymore. I don’t want to see that nor do my colleagues.
“But we need to be looked after and protected when we are just doing our jobs.
“I’m all for transparency but it has to be an equal playing field and not a witch hunt directed by the IOPC. It’s an absolute travesty.”
An IOPC spokesman said: “We know the case to answer test is low [ie lower than burden of proof required for a criminal prosecution] but it has been repeatedly tested through judicial reviews and found to be appropriate.”
Moped-enabled crime plummeted after the tactics were introduced. Operation Venice recorded a 36 per cent drop across London in 2018 compared to the previous year.
Police say from January to October in 2017 there were 19,455 moped-enabled offences across London, but from January to October last year that number plummeted to 12,419 offences.
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