Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Police officer fired by force for ‘bragging’ about tragic death crash
‘Callous’ sergeant sent ‘insensitive’ messages about accident victims
A police sergeant who”bragged” on Whatsapp about a tragic car crash in which two young women were killed has been sacked.
PS David Oates was at the wheel of a patrol van chasing a Toyota Yaris which struck a tree in Womenswold, near Canterbury, in 2018, claiming the lives of Lucy Leadbeater, 27, and 18-year-old Casey Hood.
The officer would later send “callous and insensitive” messages about the victims and the accident - sometimes with photographs - to police colleagues.
Details of his actions were shared at a misconduct hearing, which was also told PS Oates had bullied a junior female colleague after a “flirtatious” relationship went sour, and repeatedly made “derogatory” comments about co-workers.
He has now been dismissed by Kent Police after his behaviour was ruled to amount to gross misconduct.
But the conclusion of the hearing - which started last June and resumed on March 22 - took place without any journalists in attendance as the force did not share details of the resumption on its website.
Further information only emerged last week after the findings of the misconduct panel were published online.
The ruling revealed that one of four allegations faced by PS Oates concerned the fatal crash in Womenswold on September 14, 2018.
The officer had been in a police Sprinter van when he spotted Miss Leadbeater’s car speeding near Canterbury police station.
PS Oates, who was not a trained high-speed pursuit driver, followed the Yaris for six miles to a lay-by just off the A2 in Adisham Road.
As he pulled into the lay-by, Miss Leadbeater drove off.
PS Oates pursued with his lights and sirens on, and encountered the wreckage of the car, which had hit a tree.
Passenger Miss Hood - a former Canterbury College student who had moved from the city to Folkestone Road, Dover - was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mum-of-one Miss Leadbeater, of Hyton Drive, Deal, died in hospital the following day. Tests later revealed she had been over the legal alcohol limit to drive.
The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which identified no incidents of misconduct relating to the actions of the pursuing officers.
However, the misconduct hearing was told PS Oates would “often” send “bragging” email and Whatsapp messages to colleagues about the tragedy.
But the Gazette does not know the content of the correspondence, which would have been revealed at the tribunal’s conclusion - the date of which was not released by Kent Police.
Casey Hood’s grandparents say they too have not been made aware of the exact nature of the messages - a claim contradicted by Kent Police.
Carol and Ray Hood - whose daughter Natalie tragically overdosed just two days after the fatal crash - say PS Oates deserved to lose his job.
“I just don’t understand it at all, how people can say things and act like that,” said Carol, 72. “It’s just terrible.
“He deserved to get what he’s
got, losing his job.”
Ray, 73, added: “I’m glad that he did get the sack.
“I just can’t understand why people behave in that manner. They’re dealing with people’s lives, and people who are trying to rebuild [their lives].”
Following PS Oates’ misconduct hearing, a panel concluded: “You often referred to this incident in callous and insensitive terms in emails and Whatsapp messages to colleagues.”
The tribunal also heard that PS Oates formed a personal relationship with a female police constable, in which they exchanged photographs showing themselves half-dressed and in their underwear.
PS Oates spoke to, and about, the officer “in an overly informal and flirtatious manner”, but when the relationship soured his behaviour towards her became “rude and overbearing”.
The panel concluded: “Your rudeness and use of explicit sexual references and innuendo to her, and often in front of others at work, caused [the woman] to feel distressed, undermined and unfairly treated.
“You would not have spoken to a man with whom you had not had a personal relationship in the same way as you spoke to, and about, [her].”
PS Oates also used a police IT system to send “flirtatious and sexually explicit” emails to two female members of staff.
Although the messages were “not unwelcome”, and “their sentiments reciprocated”, the officer’s behaviour was described as a “blatant abuse of the force IT systems for your own purposes”.
Meanwhile, PS Oates would also “pepper” emails to colleagues with “derogatory and unnecessary” comments about other workers.
The hearing concluded his breaches of standards of professional behaviour were “so serious” that they amounted to gross misconduct, and he was dismissed without notice.
Detective Superintendent Mat Scott, from Kent Police’s Professional Standards Department, said it was discovered that PS Oates had made “insensitive and offensive comments” about Miss Leadbeater and Miss Hood in messages sent to colleagues.
He added: “The content of these messages was thoroughly reviewed and were part of the misconduct proceedings commenced against the officer. He was suspended from his duties at the commencement of the original investigation and did not return to work.
“In March 2022, the officer was found to have committed gross misconduct and was dismissed without notice.
“The relatives of the deceased women were also informed of the misconduct proceedings and were apprised on the content of the messages. They were also kept updated on the progress of the misconduct proceedings.
“All officers and staff at Kent Police are expected to adhere to the highest standards of professionalism and conduct at all times. Those who fall short will always face scrutiny and proportionate action.”
Kent Police did not provide a comment on why dates for the hearing’s conclusion were not published on its website.