Moment ‘possessed’ Afghan refugee tasered by police after stabbing canine walker to loss of life
WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Uber driver and Afghan refugee Dawood Safi reportedly looked “like he was possessed” as he launched an unprovoked attack on dog walker Wayne Broadhurst
The moment an Uber driver and Afghan refugee was tasered and arrested by police officers has been releasied after he stabbed to death a dog walker in a random “vicious and ferocious” attack.
Dawood Safi, 28, fatally stabbed Wayne Broadhurst, 49, during a knife rampage at his home in Midhurst Gardens, Uxbridge, on October 27 last year. Broadhurst was stabbed 14 times in the head, neck, chest, and back by Safi, in an attack one witness described as a “butchering”.
Safi was reportedly gripped by psychosis as he launched a horror attack on Broadhurst as one witness said he looked “like he was possessed”. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter over Broadhurst’s and was later found guilty of also trying to murder his landlord.
Dawood Safi stabbed a dog walker to death and attempted to kill his landlord (Image: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
In the newly-released bodycam footage, police officers can be seen stopping their vehicle and rushing towards Safi, who is still holding the knife.
Officers can be heard shouting “drop the knife” and “get on the floor”, but Safi ignores requests and is seen backing away from them.
The continue telling him to drop the knife before another officer tasers Safi and he falls to the ground. Safi is then rolled onto his front as police carry out a search. He is then placed in handcuffs.
Dawood Safi being approached by officers following the stabbing(Image: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
A second clip of the same footage is then shown at the end from the perspective of a security camera from a nearby property.
Southwark Crown Court heard his landlord Mr Farrukh, 45, was stabbed in the neck, and he and the injured teenager managed to get away as neighbours and passing members of the public attempted to stop Safi.
Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw KC said Mr Broadhurst had the “terrible misfortune” of walking by with his dog Harry while Safi was on the rampage, and he was attacked for no apparent reason.
The court heard Safi lied about his age, claiming to be 17, when he arrived in the UK on the back of a lorry in 2020, and he was subsequently granted asylum in 2022.
Wayne Broadhurst, 49, was fatally stabbed to death while walking his dog(Image: PA)
He told a psychiatrist he had witnessed his father being murdered in a land dispute in Afghanistan when he was 10, and prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw KC said at the time of the Uxbridge stabbings Safi had suffered a “collapse in his mental health”.
Mr Laidlaw said: “The defendant was hearing voices, he’d become consumed by paranoia and delusional beliefs which included that people generally and members of his family in this country were both controlling him and plotting against him.”
In the three days before the stabbings, which happened on October 27 2025, Safi had attended an appointment at his GP, he had a mental health assessment at Hillingdon Hospital, and he had sought help at Hayes Police Station.
At around 4.45pm on October 27, Mr Farrukh entered the kitchen of his home and saw Safi’s silhouette through the glass door leading to the annex.
Met Police released footage of Safi being detained by officers following the horror attack(Image: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
Mr Farrukh opened the door and found himself a few feet from Safi, who was already armed with a large kitchen knife.
“He launched an unannounced attack on Mr Farrukh, who was unarmed and was caught completely unaware,” said Mr Laidlaw.
Safi made comments as he carried out the knife attack, suggesting he was angry at Mr Farrukh for not accompanying him to the police station earlier that day.
As the incident unfolded and spilled on to the street, neighbours heard shouts and went to investigate the disturbance. One witness, Daniella Jarvis, told police Safi looked “like he was possessed”.
Mr Broadhurst, who worked as a street sweeper for Ealing Council and was a Liverpool FC fan, encountered the scene as he came through an alleyway on to Midhurst Gardens.
“For no apparent reason, rational or otherwise, he was stabbed to death in a frenzied, random and entirely unprovoked attack,” said Mr Laidlaw.
Wayne Broadhurst with his dog Harry moments before the attack(Image: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
“Mr Broadhurst died in the street, with the dog by his side.”
The court was told Mr Broadhurst’s family had wanted Safi to be convicted of murder, but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter after receiving evidence about the state of his mental health.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, causing actual bodily harm, wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon, and has been found guilty of attempted murder.
The jury in the trial of Safi has failed to reach a verdict on a charge of attempting to murder a 14-year-old boy during the knife rampage. Prosecutor Laidlaw told the court the CPS has decided against a retrial.
The judge adjourned the case until sentencing on October 5, with orders for Safi to undergo medical assessments.
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