PC thought she would die, sword attack trial hears

Jurors at the Old Bailey trial of the man accused of murdering schoolboy Daniel Anjorin heard a police officer weeping as she described the moment she was attacked by a man with a sword.

Marcus Monzo, 37, denies murdering the 14-year-old and attempting to kill four others during a 20-minute series of attacks in Hainault, north-east London, in April last year.

In a recorded police interview played in court, PC Yasmin Mechet-Whitfield told a colleague: "Don't let me die here. I thought I was going to die on that street, I thought he was going to come back and finish me off."

She described how when she arrived at the scene she ran after Mr Monzo, who had a sword, as he went down an alleyway.

Warning: this story contains details some may find distressing

She was in front of her colleague PC Cameron King as she was the one armed with a Taser, the court heard.

In tears, PC Mechet-Whitfield said: "I was shouting 'police officer with a Taser' and that's when he jumped out in front of me. I don't know where he came from."

She was slashed four times with the sword as she stumbled to the ground, the jury heard.

"I thought he'd just smashed me over the head and he smashed me again and again and that's when all the blood started coming and Cameron was shouting over the radio: 'Yas has been stabbed'."

She described how she looked at her hand and could see the bones.

"I was in a pond of my own blood. Painful, intense pain really, really quickly."

PC King shouted "officer stabbed, police officer stabbed", in footage played to the court.

He did not have a Taser and his pepper spray had run out but he drew his baton and placed himself between Mr Monzo and PC Mechem-Whitfield as she was on the ground, the jury heard.

Earlier on Tuesday, a paramedic who was called to the scene gave evidence.

Stephanie Baisden told the court how "extremely terrifying" it was when Mr Monzo started attacking the ambulance with a sword.

She said they saw Daniel lying in the road injured and, as she went to get the medical equipment from the back of the ambulance, her colleague started shouting, "drive, drive".

She said she looked out of the window and the suspect was "holding a very large sword, a machete-type weapon".

"He was trying to force it into our window," she said.

"I could hear it hitting the windows and force it into the driver's seat where I was sitting.

"It was extremely terrifying, I could hear shouting, it was an extremely stressful situation."

In a statement to the court, her London Ambulance Service colleague, Lachlan Allan, said as the defendant tried to smash the window with his sword they managed to drive away to the end of the road.

Mr Monzo also denies wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of an offensive weapon relating to a kitchen knife.

He previously admitted two counts of having an offensive weapon, namely two swords.

The trial continues.

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