Man fined after eating takeaway off police car parked outside station
A 21-year-old man from Stratford has been ordered to pay nearly £1,000 after he was caught eating takeaway off a police car before ripping off its wing mirror.
Adam Bachir-Belmehdi, who resides on McGrath Road, appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday where he was found guilty of causing criminal damage.
The court handed down a financial penalty totalling £957, comprising a £480 fine, £200 in compensation, £85 in prosecution costs and a £192 surcharge.
The conviction stems from an incident in the early hours of May 3, when Bachir-Belmehdi was recorded on surveillance cameras outside Bishopsgate Police Station in the City of London.
The footage captured him vandalising a marked police car while consuming takeaway food on its bonnet.
Surveillance footage revealed Bachir-Belmehdi approaching the police vehicle before sprawling across its bonnet and windscreen, with a friend photographing the scene.
He subsequently placed his takeaway on the car and began eating from it.
The vandalism escalated when he kicked both the side of the vehicle and its wing mirror on two occasions.
Following these kicks, he proceeded to tear the wing mirror completely off the car.
Two officers who witnessed the incident gave chase as Bachir-Belmehdi and his friend fled the area, abandoning the takeaway container on the police vehicle.
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The City of London Police control room received the CCTV feed in real time, enabling officers to reach the scene within seconds of the damage commencing.
The marked police vehicle remained out of service for five days as a consequence of the damage inflicted.
PC Oliver Gage, who responded to the incident, described the behaviour as entirely avoidable and juvenile.
"Bachir-Belmehdi's actions were completely unnecessary and it's incredibly childish behaviour," he said.
"As a result of his actions, officers were without one of our vehicles for a number of days."
The officer added: "We do not tolerate this sort of behaviour in the City of London and we want to make it clear that anyone who behaves in this manner will face justice."
The force highlighted that its CCTV network is among the most sophisticated policing tools nationally, permitting real-time suspect tracking and immediate deployment of resources to protect businesses and public.
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