Police already knew Bilal Dawlatzai, 25, had no business being behind a wheel. He was disqualified. He had a history of dangerous driving. When officers in Peterborough spotted his blue Vauxhall Astra on April 20, they knew exactly what they were dealing with.
What happened next put two of them in the hospital.
Instead of pulling over, Dawlatzai made a split-second decision — he drove his car directly into the police vehicle attempting to stop him. The crash, which took place in the Orton Malborne area of Peterborough, left two Cambridgeshire Police officers with neck, shoulder, and back injuries.
The whole chase had been a team effort. CCTV operators worked in real time alongside officers on the ground to track Dawlatzai’s location and coordinate the stop — a detail that Detective Constable Joshua Crown specifically highlighted after the sentencing.
“No one should have to suffer injury in the workplace,” DC Crown said. “I would like to commend the officers who put themselves at risk to stop Dawlatzai.”
At Huntingdon Law Courts on Wednesday, Dawlatzai stood before a judge and admitted everything. His list of charges was staggering: dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, driving while disqualified, criminal damage, two counts of assaulting emergency workers, and failing to provide a roadside drug and alcohol test.
The judge sentenced him to 20 months in jail and slapped him with a 52-month driving ban — meaning he won’t legally be allowed near a steering wheel until well into 2029.
What This Means: Dawlatzai had already been stripped of his license before this incident — yet he got behind the wheel anyway and nearly destroyed two officers’ lives in the process. The 52-month ban only matters if it’s enforced. Whether authorities will be watching closely when he gets out remains to be seen.
Two officers showed up to do a routine stop. They left in pain. The man who put them there is now sitting in a jail cell — exactly where he should have been long before April 20. Copy Full Article Copy Headline Only
