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A serving Metropolitan Police officer who falsely imprisoned and beat a woman has been jailed.
PC Isaque Rodrigues-Leite, attached to the Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC), also used coercion, control, and regular threats and intimidation against the woman, whom he knew, with the offending culminating in 2019.
A judge on Thursday ruled PC Rodrigues-Leite did pick up a knife and threaten to kill the victim and himself among his offences, as he sentenced him to two years and three months imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court.
In another incident, the hearing heard how the Met Police officer accelerated his car towards the woman, forcing her to jump on its bonnet. He drove backwards and forwards for a few minutes, eventually causing the woman to fall off, leaving her lying in the road, the court was told. The judge caveated that the suspected low speeds would have meant her injuries were “not significant” – but he described it as “nonetheless a serious incident”.
Passing sentence, Mr Recorder Daniel Dyal said: “I’m satisfied that you were aggressive and highly volatile… your temper was so bad at this time that you made her fear violence would be used.”
In an impact statement read to the court, the victim said: “It got to the point where I was terrified to leave my house… It’s caused me to also feel scared of police officers.”
The hearing was also told of multiple occasions when PC Rodrigues-Leite would lock the woman in rooms and prevent her from leaving for a few minutes.
Following a previous 10-day trial, PC Rodrigues-Leite was found guilty on 10 November of four counts of false imprisonment, two counts of assault by beating, one count of coercive and controlling behaviour and one count of criminal damage.
The woman had contacted police in September 2020, after which PC Rodrigues-Leite, who joined the Met in 2019, was arrested.
He has been suspended from the force and will now also face misconduct proceedings.