Hero police officer had ‘no time for fear' before confronting swordsman

Yahoo

8 hours ago

Credit: Metropolitan Police
A police officer who confronted a swordsman that was in the grip of cannabis-induced psychosis has said he had 'no time for fear'.
Insp Moloy Campbell was injured when he and his team rushed to stop Marcus Arduini Monzo's rampage, in which 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin was killed.
At the Old Bailey on Wednesday, Monzo, 37, was found guilty of the schoolboy's murder following a three-week trial.
Speaking after the verdict, Mr Campbell said that as he was making his way to the scene in Hainault, east London, he heard another officer, Pc Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield had been attacked.
He said: 'As we were heading to the incident my sergeant was driving and I was in the operator seat. As we heard that transmission 'police officer stabbed, police officer stabbed' I turned to him and said: 'Just get us there, don't speed up, don't let red mist get to you. We need to get there and get control of this incident'.'
He said his thoughts were entirely focused on the need to 'preserve life', including that of his officers.
Mr Campbell took the decision to confront Monzo in a car park, and ran at him with baton drawn in terrifying scenes captured on police body-worn video.
He said: 'There was no time for fear. That is not a reflection of bravery of me or anyone else, it's a fact. There was no time for that. There is a job to be done and there was an objective that needed to be met, and that was, as I say, the preservation of life.
'At that point there was no help coming. Armed police were coming but they were 10, 15 minutes away, and that's far too long in that situation.
'That's not the fault of my colleagues, it's just the way it played out on that morning.'
Mr Campbell, who suffered a slash wound to his hand, said 'luck' and the 'good instincts' of members of the public were the only reasons Monzo failed to kill anyone else.
He said that he felt enormous pride for his team who managed to detain the suspect.
'They did what we do every day. We chase people with knives. We chase people with offensive weapons,' he said.
He added: 'As I speak, there is probably a police officer somewhere in the country chasing someone with a knife or something else.
'What we saw in Hainault was extraordinary circumstances in the way it turned out, but it's not unusual to have someone running round with a knife at 7am. It's not unusual at all.'
Credit: Metropolitan Police
Mr Campbell sat at the Old Bailey throughout Monzo's murder trial and was in court when he was found guilty on Wednesday.
Of his reaction, he said: 'My entire thoughts were for the family of Daniel. I spoke to my team and thanked them again and filled them in on the finer details.
'My thoughts were for Daniel's family who I am humbled by – incredible people. I think the jury came to the right decision.'
Ch Supt Stuart Bell said he was 'incredibly proud' of the police response.
'The scale and severity of the attack was intense and quite widespread, and throughout the entire incident our officers responded with courage, placing their own safety second, trying to prevent harm to others first, showing great courage and bravery and teamwork to eventually detain Monzo.
'That type of incident is rare, thankfully, but the notion of our officers running towards and dealing with dangerous situations is not.
'Eighteen officers a day in London are assaulted dealing with calls. The behaviour our officers displayed that day is displayed every day, the fearlessness, the courage, the self-sacrifice. Frankly, Moloy and Yasmin both suffered severe injuries as a result of them attempting to prevent harm to others, and our officers take that action every day.'
Credit: Metropolitan police
Speaking ahead of Monzo's sentencing on Friday, Mr Bell paid tribute to the schoolboy who lost his life.
He said: 'Daniel was universally described as a talented, gentle young man with great potential and a life ahead of him who was loved by so many.
'His untimely death is a tragedy and words do not come close to describing how tragic, how random the events which befell Daniel were.
'His family have been nothing but dignified, resilient and behaved with the most incredible courage, and we are frankly in awe of them.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.