Kentish Express Ashford & District
Family fight to uncover truth about tragic death of cyclist
Six years ago, college lecturer died after he was found with horrific injuries in a country lane. A professional standards report and the IPCC criticised the police investigation, but all officers were cleared of any misconduct. reports
On November 24, 2011, keen cyclist Richard Jordan was discovered in a remote country lane, with a seven-inch fracture to his skull and 10 of his ribs broken.
Police were only alerted to the incident the following day, by which time the 67-year-old first aid lecturer had died in hospital and the scene been cleared of any evidence.
Officers decided there was no third-party involvement, but failed to seize and forensically examine the car of a driver who had called 999 from the scene after finding Mr Jordan.
The father-of-three’s family were outraged, convinced his devastating injuries could not have been caused by a simple fall from his bike.
Now – despite a Kent Police professional standards report saying the investigation into his death was unprofessional and unacceptable in places – no officer has been found to be at fault for their part in the case.
Mr Jordan’s widow, Sue, who had been married to the retired BT engineer for 44 years when he died, says the ruling has riled the family.
“We are absolutely furious,” the 69-year-old said. “These police officers should have known what they needed to do at the scene of a crash.
“We have been fobbed off at every opportunity and that is still happening now.
“The report found serious errors and we have highlighted all of those failings throughout, but Kent Police has exonerated the officers involved and that is just unbelievable.”
The officers were cleared of any wrongdoing at a misconduct hearing in July, despite the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) finding they failed to properly investigate the incident.
The professional standards report also discovered flaws with the inquiry, including the decision not to take away the car for forensic examination, potentially overlooking crucial evidence.
It was instead looked at by officers under torchlight the day after Mr Jordan’s death, with the report saying they had in places fallen short of what is expected in any competent and thorough investigation.
“We thought it was a good report, but to completely exonerate the officers is embarrassing and makes the police look like a bunch of buffoons,” Mrs Jordan said.
“If they had seized everything at the time of the incident, we would have never complained.
“But they didn’t – and this wasn’t a complex fraud case, this was a basic collision.
“The misconduct meeting should have been conducted by an independent person, not someone from Kent Police, as there are glaring contradictions with the report and that is just unprofessional and unacceptable.”
At an inquest more than a year after the tragedy, Mr Jordan’s family listened to a chilling 999 call made from the scene by a couple who were heard arguing about whether their car had hit him.
The death was recorded as an accident by the coroner, prompting Mrs Jordan to lodge a complaint, initially with Kent Police and later with the IPCC.
Mr Jordan’s son, Neil, says he feels the family has been “led down a garden path and into a brick wall” since the accident, which happened in the tight and twisty Long Hill lane.
“There must be something the IPCC can do,” he said.
“The commission is there to make sure police behave themselves and they are doing the exact opposite – it is now saying it is powerless because the misconduct meeting has already taken place, and the only option really now is a judicial review, which is wrong.
“I would fail to see how a judge at a judicial review couldn’t see the significant failings – if all of the evidence was put to someone impartial, they would come down on the police, but reviews are expensive.”
Neil, 49, thinks a judicial review would cost between £80,000 and £100,000, but his mother is not ruling the option out.
“It is like the Hillsborough disaster,” she said. “It was only after a judicial review that the failings came out.
“The officers involved in investigating the crash are still in the same job now with no change whatsoever – even though we have all of the evidence and the facts showing their wrongdoing.
“We will continue to expose and ridicule the police until they listen. They have never admitted they have done anything wrong and no one has ever apologised.
“We will not accept it and the fight goes on – it is by no means over.” Ch Supt Alison Roden says a Kent Police review of the investigation identified some “unexploited opportunities”.
She said: “Kent Police’s professional standards department undertook a review of the investigation into the circumstances of Richard Jordan’s death in November 2011.
“The findings of the review, which identified some unexploited opportunities, were shared with Mr Jordan’s family in March 2016.
“Mr Jordan’s family appealed to the IPCC in regards to some of the review’s findings and recommendations for misconduct.
“The IPCC deemed Kent Police’s level of sanction to be appropriate and further upheld the family’s appeal regarding an officer’s lack of fairness and impartiality.
“Kent Police accepts the IPCC’s assessment and an internal misconduct meeting was held on July 27 this year, which Mr Jordan’s family attended.
“The purpose of this meeting was to ascertain whether there was a case of misconduct to answer.
“The chair of the meeting was given the opportunity to consider the evidence and found none of the five officers had breached the standards of professional behaviour expected, nor were there wilful failures by the officers.
‘Misconduct proceedings have now concluded.
“Kent Police has apologised to Mr Jordan’s family for the unexploited opportunities identified by the review process, and through a dedicated inspector, has kept them informed as and when significant developments have taken place.”
We have been fobbed off at every opportunity and and that is still happening now