Prosecutors have released dramatic footage of a police car crashing into the side of a family car, seriously injuring a mother-of-two, while he was driving at more than twice the speed limit to the scene of an accident.
Pc Harry Chaplin, of Dorset Police, hit the car carrying a husband and wife and their two children while travelling at up to 81mph in Littlemoor Road, Weymouth, Dorset, on July 9, 2022.
The 27-year-old officer was fined and issued with eight penalty points at Winchester Crown Court earlier this week after he admitted careless driving.
The court was shown the dashcam footage of the victim’s car being overtaken firstly by a police car with its blue lights flashing and siren on being driven by another officer, Pc Derek Alexander.
The video then shows the Honda Civic, with its indicator light flashing, turning right and being hit by Chaplin’s police vehicle, also with its blue lights and siren on, knocking it on to its side.
Nicholas Cotter, prosecuting, told the court that Chaplin had been driving at between 73mph and 81mph in the 30mph zone – which he said was “excessive” for the residential area even when responding to an accident.
Mr Cotter said that the Honda was being driven by Patrick Mulqueen with his wife Claire and their two young children passengers in the car.
He said Mrs Mulqueen was knocked unconscious in the crash and suffered a brain bleed.
Mr Mulqueen suffered bruising and cuts and the two children also had bruising from their seat harnesses.
Chaplin, of Weymouth, was originally charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but the prosecution accepted a guilty plea to the lesser charge of careless driving.
Sentencing Chaplin, Judge Angela Morris said: “The speed you travelled was a serious error of judgment by you.”
He was responding to an emergency road traffic accident and it's a case where he has made an error of judgment as to the speed he was travelling but doing so while fulfilling his policing duties to the best of his ability— Ailsa Williamson, defending
She fined the defendant £307, ordered him to pay a £123 surcharge and £500 compensation to the family.
The judge said that she would not disqualify Chaplin from driving because he was “driving towards a serious RTA and not simply exceeding the speed limit”.
She instead imposed eight penalty points on his driving licence.
Ailsa Williamson, defending, said that Chaplin, who was a “highly regarded” officer, had offered to meet the victims to discuss how the accident happened as a form of restorative justice.
Ms Williamson explained that analysis showed he should have been travelling at 11mph slower in order to have been able to stop in time.
She added: “He was responding to an emergency road traffic accident and it’s a case where he has made an error of judgment as to the speed he was travelling but doing so while fulfilling his policing duties to the best of his ability.”
Pc Alexander was also initially charged in connection with the accident but the charges were later dropped by the CPS.
