A 21-year-old man has been convicted of criminal damage after he was caught on CCTV eating a takeaway meal off the bonnet of a police car parked outside a station in London.
Adam Bachir-Belmehdi, from Stratford, was fined for damaging the vehicle outside Bishopsgate Police Station in the early hours of May 3.
City of London Police said CCTV footage showed Bachir-Belmehdi approaching the police car and laying across the bonnet and windscreen while his friend took photos of him. He then placed his takeaway meal on the car's bonnet and began eating it, before kicking the side of the vehicle and its wing mirror twice.
After kicking the vehicle, he continued causing damage by ripping the wing mirror from the car. The incident was captured on CCTV fed into the City of London Police control room, and officers were on the scene within seconds of him beginning to cause the damage.
Vehicle off road for five days
His actions meant the City of London Police had a marked vehicle off the road for five days. At Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday, Bachir-Belmehdi was ordered to pay £200 in compensation, a £480 fine, £85 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service, and a £192 surcharge.
Police Constable Oliver Gage, who attended the incident, said: "Bachir-Belmehdi's actions were completely unnecessary and it's incredibly childish behaviour. As a result of his actions, officers were without one of our vehicles for a number of days."
He 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 City's CCTV network remains one of the most advanced policing assets in the country, allowing officers and control room staff to track suspects in real time, direct resources immediately and protect businesses, workers and the public."
The City of London Police is responsible for policing the City's business district, the Square Mile, in the historical centre of London.
