Agony of PC cleared after 18-month £250k fatal chase probe
A POLICEMAN has been cleared after an 18-month, £250,000 fatal pursuit investigation which was last night condemned as being ‘beyond belief’.
PC Simon Folwell, 42, a married father of five, was withdrawn from frontline duties and subjected to gross misconduct proceedings following the death of Luke Campbell, 24, during a 100mph pursuit.
The controversial case follows two failed criminal prosecutions of officers last year after Independent Police Comare plaints Commission (IPCC) investigations into police chases.
PC Folwell’s own commanders said his driving had been a ‘textbook’ example of how to conduct a pursuit, but the police watchdog said the evidence in the case had to be tested in a full misconduct hearing.
PC Folwell was finally cleared this week of any wrongdoing over the death of Mr Campbell in Manchester on February 21 last year. The officer, who has been restored to normal duties, described the proceedings against him as ‘humiliating’.
Ian Hanson, chairman of Greater Manchester Police Federation, said: ‘It is absolutely beyond belief that this officer was put through this process for simply doing his job.
‘PC Folwell acted quite properly and the panel recognised that in finding that there was no case for him to even answer.
‘The time has come for the public to be made aware of the scandalous incompetence of the IPCC and the fact that enormous sums of public money
‘Guilty until proven innocent’
being wasted on investigations that have no merit.
‘The IPCC urgently need to have a long hard look at themselves because whoever is responsible for this most recent example of wasting tens of thousands of pounds of public money needs holding to account themselves.’
Mr Campbell, a father of one from Oldham, sped away from PC Folwell in Manchester city centre at speeds of up to 100mph. He died after crashing his Mercedes S320 in Old Trafford, two miles away.
The disciplinary hearing was told that he had taken cocaine and was nearly twice the drink drive limit when he crashed. He was also serving a driving ban at the time.
PC Folwell said: ‘ People assume you have done something wrong. It’s like you are guilty until proven innocent.
‘It’s a job I love doing but I have had to take time off with stress through it all. It just all got too much. To be frank, it was humiliating for me and my family.
‘I could have lost my job and faced criminal proceedings when I have a young family to support. My youngest is just a year old.’
Greater Manchester’s Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: ‘Police pursuits are among the most challenging operational situations they face.
‘I would like to offer my condolences to Mr Campbell’s family and friends.’
An IPCC spokesman said: ‘In the circumstances it was important for the evidence to be fully tested at a hearing.’
Such is the concern among officers about misconduct proceedings or prosecution for police pursuits that in the summer, the Police Federation of England and Wales issued a warning to its 120,000 members. They were reminded that ‘there are no exemptions’ for offences including dangerous and careless driving.
The federation warned: ‘Legal advice has recently highlighted that police response and pursuit drives are, in most circumstances, highly likely to fall within the definitions or careless or dangerous driving.’
In November last year, Merseyside WPC Laura Jameson was cleared of careless driving after crashing into a teenage suspect as he fled after a highspeed chase.
The same month, fellow Merseyside officer PC James Ellerton, 29, was found not guilty of dangerous driving at Liverpool Crown Court.
PC Ellerton – twice commended for bravery – used his van to knock down a criminal on an illegal motorbike.
Merseyside Police Federation chairman Peter Singleton said: ‘It does seem there’s an unnecessary desire by some people to try and get cops in court simply for doing their job.’