A METROPOLITAN Police officer who knocked down and killed a Scottish pedestrian while driving without his blue lights and sirens on has been banned from policing.
Daniel Francis, 33, was going three times the speed limit after a firework incident on November 1, 2019, when he collided with earth scientist Andrew MacIntyre Brown, 23, from Glasgow, as he crossed the road in west London.
An investigation by the police watchdog found gross misconduct allegations were proven against Francis and he has been dismissed without notice.
He was also placed on the police barred list following the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) hearing on Wednesday.
Francis had admitted causing the death of Brown by careless driving and was sentenced at the Old Bailey to 12 months suspended for two years in February.
He had been working late with two colleagues in a marked incident response vehicle in Whitton Road, Hounslow, when a firework was thrown from a vehicle.
A Peugeot car, being driven by Francis, accelerated after the Nissan and attempted to close the gap and identify the registration number.
The vehicle reached speeds of up to 61mph in a 20mph zone, and Francis made a decision not to activate his blue lights and sirens as he followed the suspect vehicle.
Brown and another person were on a marked illuminated pedestrian crossing, causing Francis to brake and swerve.
Francis, from Tongham in Surrey, carried out chest compressions at the scene before Brown, who suffered a severe head injury, was taken to St George’s Hospital in south London where he died on November 5 2019.
The second casualty was not seriously injured and has since made a full recovery.
In a police interview, Francis said he did not want to alert the suspect vehicle by switching on his lights and siren and risk it speeding up.
IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: “I offer my sincere condolences again to the family of Andrew MacIntyre Brown at this time.
“The public expects police officers to respond to incidents immediately, but they are required to consider the safety of other road users.
“The evidence indicated that Pc Francis did not have sufficient regard to other road users when driving along that part of the road.
“The nature of his driving involved a greater risk than necessary and meant a collision was sadly unavoidable.”
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