COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

A police officer has been cleared of running down and killing a Coventry pensioner while on his way to a call-out.


Ball Hill scene: PC Ross Bosdorff (inset left) and pensioner Dennis Skelley (inset right)

Denis Skelley – who was 82 and from Stoke – died last June after being struck on Walsgrave Road.

An investigation’s found that the officer, who was on his way to a burglary, was not going too fast, and would have struggled to have seen him.

In a statement the IPCC said:

The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation findings into the death of Dennis Skelley, who died following a road traffic collision involving a West Midlands Police car can now be published.

The Coroner for Mr Skelley’s inquest, which had been presented with evidence gathered by the IPCC, recorded a narrative verdict when it concluded earlier this week.

Mr Skelley died after he was struck by a police car on Thursday 10 June 2010 at approximately 10.15pm, as he was crossing Walsgrave Road in Coventry. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The IPCC independent investigation collected evidence from eyewitnesses and CCTV. Experts also examined the police car and conducted a reconstruction of the collision to establish the speed of the police car, how long Mr Skelley had been in the carriageway, and road conditions including lighting. The officer’s driving was also compared to relevant road traffic policies.

The investigation found that on the evening Mr Skelley had accompanied his wife and her friend to a local bus stop after Mrs Skelley’s friend had spent an evening at their home. While they waited at a bus stop on the opposite side of Walsgrave Road, Mr Skelley had waited near a sandwich shop before going to cross the road.

At the same time a marked police car, a Peugeot 307, crewed with two Police Constables, was driving along Walsgrave Road responding to a report of burglary in progress at a business premise. The road has a 30mph speed limit.

The investigation found that Mr Skelley had reached the middle of the carriageway when the collision took place. Given that the car was travelling at approximate 40mph, within the Force’s ‘speed limit plus 15mph’ guideline, the officer would have had around 0.5 and 1.5 seconds to react.

There is evidence from a variety of sources both from witnesses and the two forensic road traffic collision reports that visibility on Walsgrave Road was variable. This was due to different types of neon shop lighting causing glare and pockets of shadow. In addition various types of street furniture and parked cars contributed to reduced visibility on the road.

Both officers in the vehicle stated that they had seen Mr Skelley only moments before the collision and the driver said he tried to brake and steer away from him.

The majority of witnesses and CCTV evidence confirm the police vehicle’s use of emergency equipment en route prior to the collision.

In conclusion the investigation found that the evidence provided consistent accounts that the speed of the police vehicle did not exceed what was reasonable, was within the limit permitted by Force Policy and training, and the speed was appropriate for the road conditions.

The investigation referred a file to the CPS, who did not pursue any criminal charges against the officer.