Man jailed following a violent assault on officers in Crawley

A man who violently assaulted two police officers in Crawley has been jailed.

Mohammed Rasool, 44, had been wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court charged with robbery.

Three officers sought to make a safe arrest, but Rasool violently attacked them.

He gouged the eyes of two female officers, pulled their hair, bit them and struck them with a mobile phone, leaving them both with significant and permanent injuries.

“When I felt fingers over my face like a spider trying to locate my eye socket, I feared the worst,” one officer said. 

The arrest attempt followed two violent road rage incidents involving Rasool near London Gatwick Airport where he abused and assaulted other drivers.

At Hove Crown Court on 19 March Rasool, of Gossops Drive, Crawley, was jailed for six years and ten months in total after he admitted guilty of causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, robbery, and racially-aggravated common assault.

The court was told how the first incident happened on 3 May 2024, when a taxi driver was attending the airport to drop off a passenger and seek a new fare.

The victim was racially abused by Rasool before being struck. Rasool drove away in a white Toyota Prius, and was identified and arrested.

Less than two months later, Rasool as again involved in a road rage incident near the airport on 28 June, 2024.

Rasool undertook a vehicle and then sharply broke in front of the driver. He got out of his vehicle and went up to the victim, striking him through a car window and grabbing the victim’s mobile phone before leaving the scene.

He was charged over the offences and failed to appear before Crawley Magistrates’ Court on 28 May last year, so a warrant was issued for his arrest.

On 31 May, three officers including a Detective Constable and two Police Constables attended his home address.

Officers attempted to safely detain Rasool, who turned violent, striking an officer with a mobile phone and gouging the eyes of the detective.

It left the detective with her sight being permanently affected.

One of the police officers said: “I have been assaulted before, but this has had a greater impact than anything I have previously experienced in my 28 years of service. This incident was shocking.

“I witnessed my colleagues being assaulted, causing them serious injuries, when I genuinely believed I was going to potentially lose my sight because of being assaulted. I was terrified.

“I had blood dripping down my face, I couldn’t breathe. I was exhausted from the sustained attack while trying to protect my colleagues and I.

“When I felt fingers over my face like a spider, trying to locate my eye socket, I feared the worst. I don’t think I will ever forget this.

“No one should experience this level of violence or be assaulted when they are simply doing their job.”

Detective Chief Inspector Pauline Lane from Crawley CID said: “The levels of violence shown by Rasool were truly shocking.

“The two road rage incidents outside the airport were appalling enough. He drove aggressively and then carried out unprovoked assaults on two taxi drivers going about their lawful business.

“Then after failing to attend court, he unleashed a vicious and sustained assault on officers who were there to serve the public and keep people safe.

“The assaults are simply not acceptable, and demonstrate the risks that our officers face every day while on duty.

“Rasool is clearly a violent and dangerous individual, so I am pleased he is serving a significant custodial sentence.”