Met Police officer not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving

15 Oct 2021 09:24 AM

A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer has been acquitted of causing the death by dangerous driving of 18-year-old moped rider Lewis Johnson in Hackney in February 2016.

He was also found not guilty of causing the serious injury by dangerous driving of the moped’s pillion passenger, aged 19.

PC Paul Summerson’s trial at Kingston Crown Court, which started on Monday (4 October) and ended on Tuesday (12 October), followed an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation.

PC Summerson, aged 44, pursued a moped, driven by Mr Johnson, through the London Borough of Hackney on 9 February 2016 for three minutes.

We established that, as the moped was undertaking a van in Clapton Common, E8, it clipped the wing mirror and ricocheted into a lamp-post.

Mr Johnson and his passenger fell from the moped. Despite first aid being provided by police and paramedics, Mr Johnson sadly died at the scene, while his passenger suffered serious injuries.

Our investigation found a case to answer for gross misconduct against PC Summerson and two police sergeants – one a driver of another vehicle involved in the pursuit, the other working in the control room – for potentially breaching police professional standards relating to orders and instructions and duties and responsibilities.

Following our investigation, which concluded in May 2017, we sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider charges against PC Summerson.

The CPS decided to take no further action and Mr Johnson’s family exercised their right for a victim’s right to review (VRR). The CPS confirmed no further action.

Following a judicial review, the decision was overturned and PC Summerson was charged.

An inquest into Mr Johnson’s death has still to be arranged.