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Man charged over police station car crash & setting fire to street after ‘£10k Covid fine threat’
A MAN is due to appear in the dock after a car was rammed into a police station and a street set alight 'over a £10,000 coronavirus fine'.
Police are investigating whether a suspect snapped after being given the maximum fixed penalty notice for allegedly breaching lockdown rules.
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It is unclear at this stage what - if any - Covid rules the man is accused of breaking.
The car hit Edmonton Police Station in North London on Wednesday night.
Scotland Yard confirmed the incident is not being treated as terror-related.
They also said no injuries to any police officers or members of the public were reported.
Last night, cops said they've charged a man in connection with the incident.
45-year-old Adam Pawlowski, of Waltham Cross, London, has been charged with attempted arson with intent to endanger life and criminal damage.
He will appear in custody at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court today.
Police Commander Ade Adelekan said: "This appears to have been an isolated incident and does not seem to be terror-related. I am satisfied that there is no wider risk to the community.
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"Local officers will continue to carry out enquiries, but at this stage we are not looking for anybody else.
“I would like to thank the public for their response to the incident and would urge anyone with information about what happened to contact police.
"I also acknowledge the brave actions of local officers who confronted and arrested the suspect in a dangerous and challenging situation".
Coronavirus fines - how they work
ENGLAND was plunged back into lockdown on November 5 - bringing a string of new coronavirus fines.
People can now be fined £200 for leaving their homes without a reasonable excuse.
The fine will double for every breach of the rules up to a maximum of £6,400.
And they can still face fines of £1,000 for not self-isolating when they are ordered to.
Those attending or organising gatherings can bit hit with a penalty of up to £10,000.
Businesses can face extra penalties too for not upholding the laws in their premises.
They will be slapped with £1,000 for a first offence, £2,000 for the second, £4,000 for the third and £10,000 for the fourth and subsequent breaches.
Those who refuse to accept on-the-spot fines will be arrested and taken to court.
In total, 20,223 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were issued under lockdown restrictions between March 27 and October 19.
Video footage shows a man pouring a liquid from a container onto the busy street moments after a car crashed into the police station at 7pm.
Standing in front of a double-decker bus - while onlookers watch in horror - he then sets the liquid on fire.
Witnesses can be heard shouting as a police car pulls up and officers run out to tackle the man at a bus stop metres away.
The man is then wrestled to the floor and officers are heard shouting "get back" before dousing the flames in the road using a fire extinguisher.
Witness Peter Allimadi, 30, from Edmonton said he heard "shouting, a loud crash and sirens from everywhere".
He added: "I came out of the Lidl to see what the commotion was about, police screaming instructions to citizens to back away, some scared shoppers, commuters and parents running from the scene."
Store manager Ogur Mazlum, 34, works nearby and witnessed the moment the car crashed into the cop shop.
His wife Serife Mazlum said her husband called her to find out how she was.
She added: "Then he said I have to shut the phone quickly… that was when the car crashed into the front of the police station."
Mrs Mazlum said her shocked husband realised that the vehicle had crashed through an exterior glass entrance to the police station.
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Mrs Mazlum, 32, added that "luckily" the man had "missed a spot" while pouring flammables onto the road - and the flaming petrol did not reach traffic which had stopped nearby.
Ali Ibraheem, 46, a taxi driver, was just yards from the chaos when the car smashed into the building at speeds of up to 40mph.
The cabbie saw the motorist, 45, crash into the nick before emerging from the wreckage.
Mr Ibraheem told The Sun: "I thought he was drunk at first.
"They tackled him down, they ordered everybody to evacuate.
"He was talking in English. He was driving I would say 30 to 40mph.
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"People were scared when he got the petrol out. That's when people started running in the opposite direction."
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Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted: "As always, very grateful to the police and emergency services for their courage and professionalism in responding so swiftly to the incident in Edmonton."
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said on Twitter: "I'm grateful to the police officers and other emergency services who brought the situation under control and continue to investigate the incident."
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