The scandal engulfing Norfolk Constabulary deepened today after it emerged that footage from a crucial interview with the officer responsible for a 50mph hit-and-run crash was deleted.
The recording of PC Karl Warren first being questioned about why he failed to stop after driving his BMW X5 patrol vehicle into the back of a woman's Audi A1 on the A146 at Barnby, near Lowestoft, was not saved by officers.
Criminal charges against the roads policing and firearms officer were later dropped after he said he had no recollection of the crash, on March 5 last year.
He will also not face misconduct charges after medical evidence was presented that was suffering from amnesia at the time.
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The scandal has prompted outrage from members of the public and from former Norfolk police officers since this newspaper revealed it earlier this month.
Further questions will now be asked about the decision to accept PC Warren's account, given the recording of the interview where he was first quizzed on the crash was not saved by officers, despite being recorded on camera.
Last night, police said the footage was not saved because it was marked as “non-evidential” and that its loss had not affected investigations.
But Clive Lewis, the MP for Norwich South - where the Audi driver lives - said: “I have been closely following this story as have constituents. I'm wondering if this is what police are doing with something as simple as this, what on earth is going on with all the other problems that local people take to the police?
“These latest revelations that recordings are also missing just adds to the questions around this case.
“Complaints against police locally have escalated in recent times and we have now got this verging on scandal.
“Something far higher up the chain needs to be done to sort this out quickly.”
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According to the official police report into the case - which has been seen by this newspaper - PC Warren was first challenged about his actions the day after the crash after another officer, PC Ryan Hargrave - who was a passenger in the BMW at the time - emailed a sergeant, Damien Minnis, to report the incident.
Sgt Minnis, who is based at Wymondham, told investigators who later looked into the officers' actions that he had immediately contacted PC Warren and requested he meet him at Acle police station.
There, he spoke to the officer, getting his first account of what had happened.
However, the report says that the recording of that meeting has been lost because it was not saved on the Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS), the database that stores police body-worn video.
It meant officers looking into possible criminal charges and misconduct investigators were left reliant on recollections of what was said.
The report by Norfolk police’s professional standards department says Sgt Minnis later recalled that he told PC Warren that he had been involved in a collision, that the other driver had minor injuries, and that he had failed to stop or report it.
“Karl appeared to me to be shocked by what I was saying to him. He took some time to process what was being said,” he said.
“I cannot remember exactly what he said to me, but I remember him initially being worried that someone might be injured.”
Sgt Minnis said he did not discuss the incident further because he “didn’t want the conversation to fall within the realms of an interview”.
He said he withdrew PC Warren’s permit to drive police vehicles and then advised him to go home.
WHAT DID PC WARREN SAY WHEN INTERVIEWED?
A criminal investigation into the crash saw PC Warren quizzed under police caution in a recorded interview two months later, on May 5.
Asked what he recalled about being on duty on March 5 he said that he had been the driver and he and PC Hargrave had gone to Great Yarmouth in the morning looking for a particular vehicle.
He said they had then headed towards Lowestoft to complete patrols, getting to Blundeston, and that his next memory was then being on the A146 heading towards where the vehicle they were looking for had been sighted.
He recalled driving towards the A11 and getting as far as Snetterton before hearing that the vehicle they were after had been stopped in Suffolk.
He was then shown six minutes of dashcam video footage leading up to the collision on the A146, the crash itself and him driving off.
At the time, the patrol car was not on an emergency response.
“I have no recollection of that incident you have just played me,” he reportedly told investigators.
Asked why not, he replied: “I believe that I have a condition called transient global amnesia (TGA).”
The professional standards report reveals cameras fitted to the BMW X5 only captured the external view showing the crash but did not film inside.
There is no recording of either officer’s actions or reaction to the collision as internal cameras are only triggered when blue lights are on.
HOW DID PC HARGRAVE REPORT THE CRASH?
PC Ryan Hargrave is facing a misconduct hearing for not reporting the crash until the following day and not following proper procedures including not breathalysing PC Warren as a driver involved in a collision.
He first mentioned it in an email sent to Sgt Minnis at 8.12am on March 6, the official police report states.
In it he wrote: “Something I need to say as it’s bothering me and wouldn’t feel right not saying anything. I was crewed with Karl yesterday and we were travelling between Lowestoft towards Beccles direction, travelling normally, following traffic at slow speed, and Karl drove into the back of a black Audi A1.
“The Audi didn't brake, it was more that we were travelling slightly faster than them and caught them and bumped into them.
“I’m not sure what happened, I asked and he said ‘I don’t know’.
“The car stopped and pulled over down the road and Karl kept on driving. I said to him ‘are you not going to stop?’ and he shook his head.”
He said he had not challenged PC Warren any further but said he “thought it best to mention to you in case something is said down the line”.
“I am not trying to get anyone in trouble, or make things awkward, or make enemies having just landed on the department, so if it could be dealt with sensitively, I would appreciate it, but I don’t feel right not saying anything,” he added.
In a subsequent interview under caution, PC Hargrave said the collision had occurred on the first day he had met PC Warren as he was new to the Norfolk and Suffolk Roads and Armed Policing Team (RAPT).
He said he had not wanted to “potentially poke [PC Warren] any further” but added “on reflection I appreciate now that I should have done”.
WHAT DO THE POLICE SAY NOW?
A Norfolk Police spokeswoman said: “The footage was not saved because it was marked as non-evidential. It was not a formal interview and, as in any case, witness statements are always taken in such circumstances for all involved.
“Our investigation was not impacted by this.
“We carried out a full investigation which was independently reviewed by another force which made no recommendations.
“The outcome of the investigation is that the officer was charged with offences for careless driving, failing to stop, and failing to report.
“These charges were later discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service following the provision of two independent medical reports.”
This newspaper has offered both officers the chance to give their side of the story but they have refused.
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