Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC - formerly IPCC)
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Former West Mercia Police officer convicted of causing death by careless driving

A former West Mercia Police officer was convicted of causing death by careless driving at the end of a seven-day trial at Worcester Crown Court yesterday (18 August). The outcome follows an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

PC Jamie Holloway, 50, was found guilty of causing the death of David Shaw on 28 May 2018. PC Holloway was driving a double-crewed, unmarked BMW X5 police car and responding to an emergency call when involved in a collision at around 2.50 pm with a Ford Fiesta driven by 53-year-old Mr Shaw on the northbound carriageway of the A449 near Hartlebury, Worcestershire. Mr Shaw sadly died in hospital from injuries sustained in the collision days later on 10 June.

The IOPC began an investigation following a referral from West Mercia Police and examined the circumstances of the accident and the speed and manner of PC Holloway’s driving.  During the investigation, investigators interviewed PC Holloway twice, took account of statements from several witnesses, obtained expert evidence from a forensic collision investigator, and reviewed dash cam footage and information from the police car data recorder.

PC Holloway was an advanced, appropriately trained, police driver and the police car’s emergency lights and sirens were activated at the time. The investigation found that PC Holloway’s BMW was travelling at 103mph and began heavily braking 60 metres prior to the collision. At the time of impact, the speed of the police car was 74mph. The Fiesta, travelling at 37mph, had signalled and pulled out into the offside lane of the dual carriageway when the police car struck it from behind. 

IOPC regional director Derrick Campbell said:

“I offer my sincere condolences again to the family of David Shaw at this time. We rely on police officers to attend incidents urgently, but they are required to take into account the safety of other road users. Force policy permits advanced drivers to drive at any speed but with the expectation that they can justify the necessity, proportionality and reasonableness of their actions and the associated speeds. PC Holloway was driving at speeds up to 110mph on a road with a 50mph speed limit.

“Our view was that the manner of PC Holloway’s driving contributed to the collision and Mr Shaw’s subsequent death. The evidence indicated that the officer did not have sufficient regard to other road users when driving along that part of the road. The speed of driving involved a greater risk than necessary and meant, once the Fiesta had pulled out, a collision was sadly unavoidable.”

At the end of our investigation in April 2019, we referred our report to the Crown Prosecution Service who subsequently decided to bring a charge of causing death by dangerous driving after reviewing the evidence. The jury has decided to convict PC Holloway on the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving. It was also found that PC Holloway has a case to answer for gross misconduct. It will now be for the force to take forward disciplinary proceedings. We understand from West Mercia Police that PC Holloway has resigned from the force.

 

Channel website: https://policeconduct.gov.uk/

Original article link: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/former-west-mercia-police-officer-convicted-causing-death-careless-driving

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