A judge has called on the Metropolitan Police to review their guidance to officers after it emerged that a police driver who knocked down and killed a young woman while responding to a 999 call has been jailed for three years.
A patrol car driven by PC Nadeem Patel, 28, hit Shanté Daniel-Folkes, 25, as she crossed Stockwell Road in Brixton, south London, late on the evening of June 9, 2021.
In February Mr. Patel pleaded guilty to causing her death by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years but it could not be reported until Monday when another officer was cleared of dangerous driving.
PC Gary Thomson, who was driving just ahead of Mr. Patel, was convicted of careless driving.
Ms Daniel-Folkes walked across the road at 11:20 p.m. close to a pedestrian crossing when Mr. Thomson’s car went passed her with its lights flashing and sirens on. Three or four seconds later she was struck by Mr. Patel’s car.
Following the dropping of reporting restrictions, the judge’s sentencing remarks in the case of Mr. Patel can be reported.
Judge: ‘No Clear Guidance Provided by the Met’
Judge Lucraft fined Mr. Thomson £500 and gave him five penalty points but told him: “I note there is no clear guidance provided by the Metropolitan Police on speeds police cars should not exceed in responding to emergency calls when driving in residential areas or roads subject to a speed limit of 30 mph.“In my judgment, further thought should be given to this issue particularly as the speed limits in many residential areas are being further reduced to 20mph,” he added.
Judge Lucraft said: “Driving at speeds in excess of motorway speeds along roads with the characteristics of Stockwell Road, whilst classified as an A road, poses obvious risks.”
Emergency vehicles are immune from prosecution for speeding but drivers are still expected to drive within safety parameters and are trained to drive at a safe speed for the road conditions, all be it that they are trying to reach their destination rapidly.
Mr. Patel had reached a peak speed of 83.9 mph on Stockwell Road, slowed to 81 mph and then slammed on his brakes when he saw Ms. Daniel-Folkes.
His car was still travelling at around 55 mph when it struck her.
At the February sentencing hearing, Judge Lucraft referred said Ms. Daniel-Folkes was clearly “kind, funny, loving, and very creative.”
He said: “She is described as bubbly and carefree, a lover of life and someone who was ambitious. She loved fashion and design. She was a mentor, an artist, a certified nail technician looking forward to opening her own salon and to a bright future for herself and her young son who she adored. She was much loved by all who knew her.”
“The family are devastated by the loss of Shanté. They express a numb and empty feeling at Shante’s loss and speak about the long-lasting impact on the family and that on Shante’s young son in particular–a son she will not see grow up and make his own way in life.”
‘Avoidable Tragedy’
Rosemary Ainslie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Shanté Daniel-Folkes following this avoidable tragedy.”“Both officers, although not bound by the 30mph speed limit while responding to a 999 call, were driving at motorway speeds in a built-up urban area, with a number of potential hazards in the vicinity,” she added.
Ms. Ainslie said: “These included pedestrians, cyclists, and cars travelling in the other direction, as well as an open convenience store directly at the scene and a nearby pub in which 30-40 customers were present for a quiz night.”
“There was an obvious risk of injury to a person from vehicles travelling at that speed in the dark, and both officers fell below the expected standard of a competent and careful driver that evening,” she added.
“PC Patel admitted causing the death of Ms. Daniel-Foulkes by driving dangerously and I hope his sentence, along with today’s verdict for PC Thomson, offers some comfort to her family at this extremely difficult time,” she added.
It is not clear what was the nature of the emergency Mr. Daniel and Mr. Thomson were responding to on June 9, 2021.
Commander Seb Adjei-Addoh, from the Metropolitan Police, said: “My thoughts and condolences are with the family of Shante Daniel-Folkes. The circumstances are tragic and have brought upset to our communities in Lambeth. Our police community engagement team will be working hard to listen and respond to local concerns stemming from this incident and trial verdict over the coming days.”
