MPS officer who killed pedestrian dismissed without notice
An officer from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) who caused the death of a pedestrian by careless driving has been dismissed without notice following a disciplinary hearing.
At an accelerated hearing, organised by the force and chaired by Acting Deputy Commissioner Helen Ball, gross misconduct allegations were found proven against Police Constable Daniel Francis, 33, who was attached to the West Area Command Unit. He will also be placed on the police barred list.
At around midnight on November 1, 2019 in Whitton Road, Hounslow, West London, PC Francis was driving a marked police car.
He was accelerating to catch up with another vehicle he had seen throw a firework out of its window when he was in collision with pedestrian Andrew MacIntyre Brown, 23, and a 16-year-old boy on a zebra crossing.
Mr Brown was taken to hospital and died from his injuries on November 5, 2019. The boy suffered serious injuries in the collision and was taken to hospital.
PC Francis admitted he had not used lights or sirens and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation found that he was travelling at 61mph and approached the pedestrian crossing outside Hounslow railway station when the people who were crossing had right of way. At the time of impact, the speed of the police car was 54mph.
PC Francis admitted causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, December 7, 2021. He was later sentenced on February 4, 2022, at the Central Criminal Court and given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work, 20 days rehabilitation activity, and given a four-month electronic curfew. He was suspended from driving for 18 months and will be required to take an extended test.
IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: “I offer my sincere condolences again to the family of Andrew MacIntyre Brown at this time. The public expects police officers to respond to incidents immediately, but they are required to consider the safety of other road users.
“The evidence indicated that PC Francis did not have sufficient regard to other road users when driving along that part of the road. The nature of his driving involved a greater risk than necessary and meant a collision was sadly unavoidable.”
