Two Metropolitan Police officers will face a misconduct hearing over the deaths of a child actor and his aunt in a horror crash at the end of a high-speed chase.
Makayah McDermott, 10, and Rozanne Cooper, 35, both died when they were struck by a stolen Ford Focus being driven by millionaire’s son Joshua Dobby in August 2016.
Dobby, then 23, drove at three times the speed limit, in the wrong direction on one-way streets, ran red traffic lights, and swerved around oncoming traffic as he tried to evade police.
He lost control of the vehicle which struck a bollard and was propelled into the air, landing on Ms Cooper, Makayah, and another 10-year-old child as they walked to the park to go on the swings and have ice cream in Penge, southeast London.
PC Edward Welch was driving the police car in pursuit of Dobby, while PC Jack Keher was in the passenger seat supporting his colleague.
PC Welch faced a criminal trial over the crash and was acquitted by a jury of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and dangerous driving.
He and PC Keher – who has since left the Met Police – are now facing a misconduct hearing over their actions that day. It is alleged that both officers “failed to correctly assess or communicate the risks and circumstances of the pursuit to the Control Room Radio Operator”.
PC Keher is accused of “failing to challenge the nature of PC Welch’s driving”, while PC Welch faces allegations he “failed to ensure PC Keher provided accurate information to the Control Room Radio Operator and failed to adequately assess the proportionality of continuing the pursuit”.In addition, the officers are accused of wrongly continuing to pursue Dobby after the crash rather than prioritising assisting the injured pedestrians. “It is alleged that in the aftermath of the stolen vehicle having collided with the pedestrians, both PC Keher and PC Welch, in choosing to pursue the driver on foot and arrest him, failed in their duty to protect life and limb by not checking whether anyone was injured and not prioritising the administration of first aid at the scene”, the misconduct notice states.
A hearing is due to take place over the course of four weeks in May and June next year.
At his trial, PC Welch, from Chatham in Kent, insisted he was trying to protect the public with his pursuit of Dobby.
Dobby, a crack cocaine and heroin addict, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an extra three years on licence in 2017 after he admitted two counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and one charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Five days before the fatal crash, he had successfully evaded police in Kent with similarly dangerous driving including speeding at traffic on the wrong side of a dual carriageway to force police to abandon the pursuit on safety grounds.
