Taser officer thought knifeman 'potentially a terrorist'

The shooting happened in Westminster in March 2020

A City of London Police officer who Tasered an armed man has told an inquest he believed he could have been dealing with "a terrorist incident".

Hassan Yahya, 30, was holding two knives when he was stunned and shot dead in Westminster on 8 March 2020.

Inner West London Coroner's Court heard Mr Yahya was shot by a firearms officer at the same time as being Tasered by the officer giving evidence.

Both officers have been given anonymity.

The firearms officer has been given the identification BX222 and the officer with the Taser BX221.

The court previously heard BX222 believed his life was in danger before the shooting.

'Emotionally or mentally distressed'

The inquest heard officer BX221 tried to Taser Mr Yahya in Northumberland Avenue at about 11:30 GMT, before Mr Yahya moved towards Great Scotland Yard.

BX221 told the hearing he believed at the time it was "potentially a terrorist incident" and he was thinking in the back of his mind Mr Yahya may have been "emotionally or mentally distressed".

Both officers arrived in the same car and BX221 said he heard on the police radio what he believed were the words "officers stabbed", adding he never received any clarification on this.

• Officer's body camera off when he shot man dead

He described Mr Yahya as "holding two knives" and "moving backwards and forwards on his feet, looking backwards and forwards between me and back behind the buses, which is where I believed the unarmed officers were".

The officer said Mr Yahya was also looking at his colleague BX222, and described Mr Yahya's movements as "quick" and "frantic".

He said it appeared as if Mr Yahya was "looking where he was going to run to escape or who he was going to come towards".

Mr Yahya was holding the knives "clutched near his chest almost near his throat", which BX221 said made him consider he may be "trying to harm himself or others", the inquest heard.

'I believed I would die'

Officer BX221 told the court he armed his Taser, pointed it at Mr Yahya and began to give verbal commands when Mr Yahya made "an overt movement" in his direction, and raised his arm above his shoulder while holding one of the knives.

He said he was standing next to BX222, about one or two metres from Mr Yahya.

"I believed I was about to be stabbed and would potentially die from that, and I remember firing my Taser as a reaction to that," he said.

BX221 told the court he pulled the trigger on his Taser at the same time BX222 fired the shot, and he initially thought the noise of the shot was from his Taser because something had gone wrong with it.

He then saw Mr Yahya go into a "rigid state" before falling.

Other officers restrained Mr Yahya, and BX221 said he saw "a number of punches" and thought he could see Mr Yahya's legs moving.

"I thought he was resisting at that point because he was still moving and I could see officers reacting to that," he added.

BX221 told the court he moved forward and put his knee on Mr Yahya's lower legs, before Mr Yahya was given first aid.

Ifeanyi Odogwu, representing Mr Yahya's family, put to BX221 that Mr Yahya "did not stand a chance" once he was confronted by both officers, but BX221 said he did not agree.

Asked if Mr Yahya looked "frightened", BX221 replied "yes".

The inquest continues.

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