Update: Met Police officer is cleared of causing moped rider's death in chase
After 80 minutes of deliberation, a judge and jury returned a not guilty verdict for the Met Police officer who was accused of causing death by dangerous driving.
An update on the story we posted last week: the Met Police officer accused of causing death by dangerous driving has been found not guilty.
Officer Paul Sommerson was involved in the chase of the moped in Stoke Newington in 2016, with rider Lewis Johnson and pillion Louis Kyriacou, both 18.
During the chase, heading out towards Stamford Hill and Clapton Common, Johnson swerved to avoid a van and collided with a pole on the side of the road.
Met Police officer found not guilty of death by dangerous driving
The van was moving out of the way of PC Sommerson’s BMW pursuit vehicle with blue lights and sirens running, and the prosecution was intimating that the crash was caused due to ‘dangerous driving’ and ‘driving far below the standard that was to be expected’ of the 44-year-old policeman.
Sommerson immediately ran to the aid of the moped rider and passenger, sadly Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene, whilst Kyriacou was left with serious injuries.
It’s believed that the pair were involved in a ‘smash and grab’ theft in the area leading up to the chase.
After 80 minutes of deliberation by the jury, the judge delivered the not guilty verdict.
PC Sommerson stated that he maintained a close distance to the suspect during the chase in order to protect the moped via ‘protective bubbling’ - where other road users will be aware of the chase and get out of the way.
This not guilty verdict will conclude 5 years of prosecution.
Source: BBC
