PC cleared of dangerous driving (From Witney Gazette)

PC cleared of dangerous driving

8:48am Monday 12th February 2007 in Witney By The Page Turner

ROAD safety groups have voiced their dismay after a Thames Valley Police officer who led colleagues on a high-speed chase was acquitted of dangerous driving.

The 44-year-old constable was cleared of a charge of dangerous driving at Reading Crown Court, on Friday.

He was cleared by a jury, despite taking colleagues on a 17-minute chase in March last year, near his home in Ansell Way, Milton-under-Wychwood, near Witney.

The court heard how the off-duty officer ignored colleagues in marked police cars with their blue lights flashing and sirens sounding and admitted:

• Travelling at high speeds, alleged to be 80mph, through narrow lanes during the chase.

• Failing to stop for a police officer.

• Giving officers a false name.

• Becoming obstructive when asked to get into the back of a police vehicle.

But Pc Dunning was never charged with any of those offences and the jury was told to ignore evidence about them when considering their verdict.

Giving evidence, Pc Dunning said that he failed to stop because "it would have caused me embarrassing or potentially embarrassing conversations".

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign, said: "Why was he not charged with the other offences, which on the face of it, sound as if they would have easily been proved in court?

"There clearly needs to be an investigation into this. It seems absolutely extraordinary and makes no sense at all.

"Most drivers would surely have found themselves in a different position."

Sheila Rainger, of the RAC Foundation, said the average motorist would probably expect to be dealt with differently.

She added: "Being too embarrassed to stop when the police are chasing you because it's your own village is hardly a good excuse.

"This is clearly not setting the kind of example one would hope for."

Kevin Clinton, head of safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: "We and the public have the right to expect the police to set the right example in the way they behave as drivers, and if they drive badly or break the law, they are treated in exactly the same way as other drivers by the police and the courts.

"It is harder to convince the public to drive responsibly and legally when they hear of cases such as this."

A charge of excess alcohol will be sent back to magistrates' court where Dunning can enter a plea.