The Police Federation has slammed an investigation by a watchdog which put an officer through “five years of hell” only to exonerate him.
PC Louie Wellfare quit policing entirely over stress he faced during an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into a crash.
His car and a taxi collided in Brighton in July 2019. The incident left a pedestrian with life-changing injuries.
Despite being cleared of wrongdoing in court, the IOPC carried out its own investigation, something the Sussex Police Federation has slammed as a “waste of public money”.
Criticising the IOPC case Sussex Police Federation chairman Raffaele Cioffi said: “We have now brought an officer through five years of hell, during which time he has suffered both physically and mentally. It has pressured the officer into making the tough decision to resign from policing and start fresh in a new career where he can leave this witch hunt to take place in the background.
“The IOPC have wasted the public’s money on a gross misconduct hearing that simply didn’t need to take place, which is an appallingly wasteful decision.
“Will the appalling handling of this case be reviewed and responsibility taken by the IOPC decision maker – as would happen in the police? Probably not, as it seems the IOPC are above criticism.
“My sympathies go out to former PC Wellfare in this matter. Our officers are doing an incredible job defending the public against those that choose to do harm. It is right that we are scrutinised when incidents like this happen, but it must be proportionate.”
PC Wellfare, now 30, was involved in a crash in a marked Sussex Police car in Bear Road in which a pedestrian suffered serious leg injuries.
A disciplinary hearing on July 8 heard how he had been driving with blue lights and sirens on when he went to overtake a taxi, swerved and hit a pedestrian on the pavement.
Mr Wellfare was cleared of wrongdoing by Sussex Police after also being found not guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in court.
Following the incident he resigned from Sussex Police, citing the stress from the investigation.
A spokesman for the IOPC said that their investigation lasted nine months but that the criminal proceedings against Mr Wellfare delayed the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings.
He added: “This was a serious incident where a member of the public received life-changing injuries following the collision. It was important that a thorough and independent investigation took place to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision.
“Our investigation was completed within nine months. The timing of subsequent criminal and disciplinary proceedings are outside of our control, though we will continue to work with others within the system to improve timeliness for the benefit of all those affected.
“It was for the police disciplinary panel, not the IOPC, to decide whether the gross misconduct allegations were proven.”
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