Trial begins for man who ran over police officer causing 'serious injury'

The trial has begun for a Slough man who ran over a police officer in the course of his duties, causing him ‘serious injury’ – with the Crown claiming he did it while trying to flee justice.

PC Christopher Miller was left fighting for his life after a hit-and-run in Bells Hill, Stoke Poges, on May 22 last year.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury from a skull fracture, required surgery on his head, and had to go through ‘many months’ of medical care for his injuries.

That month, Simranjit Kajla, 29, of Lydford Avenue, was arrested. He was charged with attempted murder and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He has pleaded guilty to the latter, the court heard today (March 24) – but is in court for a different charge, namely causing grievous bodily harm with intent to resist lawful apprehension.

The prosecution is not attempting to argue that Kajla attempted to hit PC Miller; rather, that he wanted to drive past because he was evading the law, and that caused him to be reckless.

Kajla was illegally driving and ‘knew he would be in real trouble’ if caught, said Prosecutor Julian Evans KC.

He had been released early from prison ‘on licence’, meaning that if he had been caught doing anything wrong, he would have gone straight back to prison.

The run-up to the crime

The prosecution said that at about 10pm that night, Kajla affixed cloned licence plates to a white BMW parked outside his home, then drove away in it.

Mr Evans said that when he did this, he knew he was breaking the law in several ways, besides using cloned plates.

For one, he was not insured and had falsely obtained insurance for the BMW using a stolen driving licence.

Secondly, Kajla was disqualified from driving and would remain so for another year.

Finally and ‘importantly’, he was on licence; he was released from prison early in August 2024 for an offence committed two years earlier.

Under the terms of his release, he was required not to commit any more crimes and to report any car he owned, hired or drove.

If he broke those rules, Kajla knew he could go back to prison for the remainder of his sentence – another two years.

The prosecution’s case is that when he drove away, ‘this all informed his decision-making in the events that followed.’

The crime

At about 10.18pm, Kajla was driving the BMW along Bells Hill, where PC Miller and another member of police staff were stationed.

Kajla was going at about 32-33mph on a stretch where the limit is 30mph.

PC Miller had a speed gun and was tracking the speed of vehicles going by, dressed in high-visibility clothing and a white police cap.

Conditions on the road were dry and visibility was good; it is thought PC Miller would have been visible from about 100m away, the prosecution said.

The court heard that PC Miller had been with the roads policing unit for five years and was judged by colleagues to be ‘experienced’ in this work.

Dash cam footage shows that PC Miller pointed the speed gun towards the BMW as it approached, then stepped into the road, raising his hand for the driver to stop.

“Despite this, the defendant did not stop. He continued to drive towards the police constable and did not brake,” said Mr Evans. “It appears he made no effort to do so.

“He must have foreseen the risk of hitting PC Miller by ‘driving in such a dangerous manner.”

Kajla hit PC Miller with the BMW, throwing him over the top of the car.

“Although he must have been aware of the impact, the defendant drove off,” said Mr Evans.

“He made no effort at all to call for emergency assistance or check on the condition of the officer.”

Having ‘fled the scene’, Kajla crashed and abandoned the car several hours later, Mr Evans continued.

Past offences

The Crown is pointing to previous offences that show that Kajla has a habit of not stopping for the police.

In 2017, Kajla ‘led police on a 30-minute pursuit’ through towns and villages. He ran red lights, broke speed limits and performed ‘unsafe manoeuvres’ during this.

His run came to an end when he crashed into the back of a police vehicle, after the force had deployed a device to physically stop him. He then ran away on foot.

Then, in 2020, Kajla was involved in another pursuit where he drove at 100mph in a 40mph area, went the wrong way around a roundabout, drove up onto a grass bank and drove with ‘excessive speed’ through villages.

Mr Evans said: “What this shows is that when Mr Kajla drives, he has a propensity for driving in a dangerous and reckless manner.”

Moreover, while in custody for this offence, Kajla said on the phone to his mother that he ‘never’ stops for police.

Defence’s case

The defence has yet to present its case in full but will claim that Kajla was not attempting to resist being lawfully stopped by PC Miller.

It will contend that Kajla did not see PC Miller standing in the road ‘until just before the point of impact.’

This is because he was looking around for something inside his car at the time.

Moreover, he ‘attempted to swerve’ and was ‘convinced’ he would not hit him. But PC Miller ‘moved in the same direction’, thus could not be avoided.

Further, they will say that Kajla fled the scene because he ‘panicked.’

A key issue for the jury to determine, said Mr Evans, is Kajla’s state of mind; whether he was, indeed, trying to avoid a collision, or if he was trying to avoid being detained.

The trial continues.