Met police officer who 'attacked suspect's car' charged with criminal damage and assault

A Met Police officer who was filmed allegedly smashing the windscreen of a car after its driver refused to get out has been charged with a string of offences, including common assault and criminal damage.

Leon Fontana, 25, was pulled over by two police officers in a stop-and-search just minutes from his home in Camden on 16 September last year.

A video of the incident, filmed by Fontana, saw PC Joshua Savage ask the driver to get out of the car, claiming he wasn't legally allowed to drive the vehicle.

The clip appears to show him then hitting the side window of the Ford Fiesta, before smashing the windscreen with a baton and slicing the broken glass with a pocket knife.

The clip of the incident in Vicars Road was shared on social media and went viral online. It led to a complaint about police conduct.

Following an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), PC Savage was on Tuesday (14 March) charged with common assault, possession of a bladed article, criminal damage and threatening behaviour.

A spokesman for the IPCC said: "The IPCC completed its investigation in February 2017 and referred its conclusions to the CPS."

Savage will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 20 April.