Two police offices have been disqualified from driving after pleading guilty to driving at speeds in excess of 100mph on the A27 in Brighton in marked police cars.
PCs David Muddle, 31, and Robert Watts, 34, were not on an emergency response when they were spotted by fellow officers on unmarked police motorcycles speeding on the 70mph stretch of the A27 between Devils Dyke and Falmer on Sunday 5th September.
The two officers were both disqualified for 28 days and each ordered to pay a total of £558 (£500 fine, £43 costs and £15 victim surcharge).
PC Muddle, a response officer based at Crowhurst Road, Brighton, and PC Watts, a response officer from Hove, will also be required to re-take Sussex Police‘s internal assessment after their 28 day disqualification before being allowed to drive response vehicles again.
The police motorcyclists captured the officers, who were driving unmarked Ford Focus vehicles, traveling at speeds up to 102mph on video equipment, then stopped the cars and established they were not on an emergency response, so reported the drivers for consideration of prosecution.
Chief Inspector Di Roskilly of the Road Policing Unit said: “Police are trained and trusted to travel at high speeds in response to emergencies, but on this occasion that trust was breached by the officers travelling at speed with no justification.
“They immediately recognised they had let themselves and Sussex Police down and have demonstrated this with their guilty pleas. Nevertheless, we take a robust and consistent approach towards people who ignore speed limits and this includes our own staff.
“Sussex Police is committed to reducing the number of serious injury and fatal collisions on the roads of Sussex and we know that speed is a contributing factor in many of these.
“Therefore, we will continue to deploy unmarked vehicles fitted with recording equipment to detect motorists who are prepared to put other’s lives at risk through speeding.”
NewsFromBrighton.co.uk
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