Woman allegedly raped by ex-Met officer said ‘he’s going to kill us’, jury told

In a distressed 999 call, the woman said former Pc Cliff Mitchell forced her and another person to get into his car.
Cliff Mitchell court case
Court artist sketch of Cliff Mitchell
PA
George Lithgow8 February 2024
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A woman allegedly raped and kidnapped by a former Metropolitan Police officer pleaded with an emergency call handler for help, saying “he’s going to kill us” as she desperately tried to escape, a court has heard.

The alleged victim said Cliff Mitchell approached her with a knife in September 2023 before tying her up with cable ties and putting tape over her mouth.

She alleges that Mitchell forced her and another person to get into his car and only managed to escape by saying she had to get out of the vehicle because she felt sick.

She was later seen running through traffic by members of the public before a passer-by noticed what was going on and managed to get her in her vehicle, jurors at Croydon Crown Court were told.

In a 999 call played to the court, the distressed woman told the operator “he’s kidnapped me” and “he’s behind us” as she travelled in the car of the passer-by who had offered help.

The woman, who cannot be named, believed Mitchell, 24, was pursuing her in his white Audi.

She also told the call handler that he was a Met officer, the court heard.

The driver of the car said she had spotted the alleged victim getting out of the white Audi before “running in the middle of the road”.

There was bruising to her knees, a slight scabbed and reddened area on her elbow and multiple discreet scratches to her hip which she said came from her falling over as she ran away from Mitchell, the court was previously told.

She lost her shoes as she ran from the car.

Mitchell, of Wandsworth, south-west London, was a Pc in the Met’s West Area Basic Command Unit.

He was suspended from the force after the allegations came to light and has since been dismissed.

The former officer is charged with six counts of rape against a girl, including three when she was under 13.

Among these six charges of rape are three counts which state there were at least 30 other occasions where the girl may have been similarly assaulted.

All of the alleged offences took place between January 2014 and April 2017.

The former officer is also charged with seven counts of rape against a woman between April 2020 and September 2023.

He is also charged with breaching a non-molestation order and two counts of kidnapping.

Mitchell denies all the charges.

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