PC Simon Folwell said he was left ‘humiliated’ when he was withdrawn from frontline policing
A police officer who was hounded through a £250,00 gross misconduct tribunal after a suspect died in a 100mph chase has finally been cleared after 18 months.
PC Simon Folwell said he was left ‘humiliated’ when he was withdrawn from frontline policing and made the focus on an inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission after the death of Luke Campbell.
Mr Campbell, 24, sped away from the officer in Manchester city centre while driving his Mercedes S320 at speeds of up to 100mph. He crashed his car into a Mini and died shortly afterwards.
After an 18 month ordeal, PC Folwell has been cleared of any wrongdoing today with his constabulary Greater Manchester Police slamming them for ‘incompetence’.
Greater Manchester Police always believed their officer’s driving during the 90 second pursuit had been ‘textbook’, but the IPCC compelled the force to hold a gross misconduct hearing.
It is understood the investigation showed the pursuing police car had reached 105mph and run through a red light, but experts had ruled the officer’s driving had been appropriate for the conditions at that time of night.
An independent panel has now ruled there was ‘no case to answer’ following the fatality, bringing an end to PC Folwell’s 18-month nightmare.
As he was restored to normal duties, PC Folwell said: ‘People assume you have done something wrong. It’s like you are guilty until proven innocent.
‘It’s a job I love doing but I have had to take time off with stress through it all. It just all got too much. To be frank it was humiliating for me and my family.’
He added: ‘For 18 months I have been waiting for a hearing to clear my name. My life has been put on hold. You begin to doubt yourself.’
Pictured: Wreckage outside the Trafford pub in Manchester following the fatal crash which killed Luke Campbell
PC Folwell was subjected to an 18 month investigation after Mr Campbell’s death
The cost of the entire investigation, including work from GMP, the IPCC and the Crown Prosecution Service is estimated at £250,000.
Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: ‘Police officers are often met with difficult situations, and police pursuits are among the most challenging operational situations they face.
‘Officers often have to make informed, swift, decisions on whether or not to engage with cars that are being driven dangerously or illegally in the safest way possible.
‘I would like to offer my condolences to Mr Campbell’s family and friends.’
Ian Hanson, chairman of the Greater Manchester branch of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: ‘It is absolutely beyond belief that this officer was put through this process for simply doing his job. PC Folwell acted quite properly and the panel recognised that in finding that there was no case for him to even answer.
As he was restored to normal duties, PC Folwell said: ‘People assume you have done something wrong. It’s like you are guilty until proven innocent’
‘I really believe that the time has come for the public to be made aware of the scandalous incompetence of the IPCC and the fact that enormous sums of public money are being wasted on investigations that have no merit.
‘The IPCC urgently need to have a long hard look at themselves because whoever is responsible for this most recent example of wasting tens of thousands of pounds of public money needs now holding to account themselves.’
Mr Campbell, from Sholver, in Oldham, had a son who reached his first birthday a day after the crash.
At the time of the accident, family friend Wayne Reading described groundsworker Luke – known to his friends as ‘Guke’ – as a ‘bubbly, cheeky chappie’.
He said: ‘He was a bubbly and loyal person. He would give you his last tenner if you asked for it.’
An IPCC spokesperson said: ‘This was a tragic case where a young man died following a police pursuit and two members of the public suffered serious injuries.
‘In the circumstances it was important for the evidence to be fully tested at a hearing. This has now happened, and a panel heard the case presented by the appropriate authority against a GMP officer for gross misconduct and did not find the matter proved.’