You and I both saw the same thing when we read it.
I don’t even know if this is applicable, but if he was indeed “reaching for an electric drill”, why would he have done that? Because he wanted them to think he was reaching for “something”?
It is typical fare for The Daily Mail, if I recall correctly.
Have you ever stopped quickly and had something on the seat beside you clunk onto the floor? It's almost a reflex to pick it back up and put it on the seat, especially if it's tangled up in your feet near the pedals.
I could easily imagine something like this happening and over-riding his attention to the sudden need to keep his hands showing in the hope the police weren't going to mistakenly shoot him.