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Police officer fined for breaking cyclist's wrist while driving without due care and attention

Officer was found guilty after failing to spot cyclist as he drove to police station

A police officer who was found guilty of breaking a cyclist’s wrist while driving without due care and attention has been fined.

Mark Godfrey Turner, 57, from Barrow, denied the charge but was found guilty at Furness Magistrates' Court this week.

The court heard how the officer was just moments away from the police station in town when the collision happened.

He was making a right hand turn when he collided with cyclist Daniel Grady at 8.40pm on September 7 last year.

The bicycle, which was two months old and had cost over £900, was damaged, and Mr Grady had a broken wrist and fractured ribs.

According to The Mail, Mr Grady told the court: "I saw the car and thought, in the back of my mind, 'he is going to go'.

"I had a feeling so I reacted and slammed the brakes on. I tried slowing down but I couldn't do it in time."

As well as four penalty points, Turner was ordered to pay court costs of £750, a fine of £300 and a victim surcharge of £30.

 

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14 comments

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Grumpy17 | 7 years ago
1 like

Reality is that this police officer was MORE likely to be prosecuted than a member of the public would have been in the same circumstances .

Assuming there were no aggravating features to it most police forces would not prosecute a member of the public in similar circumstances as it would be put down to 'a momentary loss of concentration' and not 'driving without due care and attention'. This is not my opinion. This is fact.

 

The  officer was prosecuted as it would have looked poor from a PR perspective to let him off.

Knocked a cyclist down while on police duty right outside the police station and they go and let him off?

Not a publicly acceptable outcome.

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burtthebike | 7 years ago
0 likes

Just goes to show, even the police can make mistakes.  However, he  did stop, and called an ambulance.

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Pub bike replied to burtthebike | 7 years ago
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burtthebike wrote:

Just goes to show, even the police can make mistakes. 

...and lie.  He should have pleaded guilty. He is an embarrassment to the police force, although I suspect few of his colleagues will see it that way.  At least we have a somewhat independent judiciary.

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burtthebike replied to Pub bike | 7 years ago
0 likes

Pub bike wrote:

burtthebike wrote:

Just goes to show, even the police can make mistakes. 

...and lie.  He should have pleaded guilty. He is an embarrassment to the police force, although I suspect few of his colleagues will see it that way.  At least we have a somewhat independent judiciary.

Where does it say he lied?

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don simon fbpe | 7 years ago
1 like

Quote:

According to The Mail (link is external), Mr Grady told the court: "I saw the car and thought, in the back of my mind, 'he is going to go'.

"I had a feeling so I reacted and slammed the brakes on. I tried slowing down but I couldn't do it in time."

Typical cyclist not knowing how to brake. Another case of all the gear and no idea...

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ChrisB200SX | 7 years ago
1 like

£30 victim surcharge... For those injuries? Presumably the cyclist is taking the police/driver to court for thousands in compensation?

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DrG82 replied to ChrisB200SX | 7 years ago
2 likes

ChrisB200SX wrote:

£30 victim surcharge... For those injuries? Presumably the cyclist is taking the police/driver to court for thousands in compensation?

The victim surcharge doesn't go directly to the victim of this particular incident, it goes into a fund like the uninsured drivers fund which you can make a claim to if you are hit by a uninsured driver.

Hopefully the cyclist will be able to make a claim against the police insurance for the bike and any costs incurred.

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dottigirl | 7 years ago
3 likes

IME, the police seem to think normal rules of driving don't apply. 

As a sidenote, this was the first tweet I saw this morning.

https://twitter.com/lucullus/status/886174185931853824

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Paul J | 7 years ago
3 likes

It was a bee. A bee flew - from out of the sun obviously - into the car. Guaranteed get off.

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Grahamd | 7 years ago
6 likes

Sod the fine, this is an arrogant police officer who had the audacity to plead not guilty when he so obviously was. Hit him with a misconduct in public office charge and so take his pension away.

Too lenient in my opinion.

 

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Housecathst | 7 years ago
11 likes

It's an odd one, "I didn't see" is normally the get out of jail free card, perhaps he should have said something about the sun being in the sky, that ones full proof. 

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ktache | 7 years ago
11 likes

You'd think that not seeing him was an admission of "without due care and attention"

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CXR94Di2 | 7 years ago
6 likes

obviously he was there because you run him down,  doesnt really matter in law you didnt see him, durr!  What a stupid copper

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ktache | 7 years ago
14 likes

"Turner repeatedly denied seeing the cyclist as he approached the junction" -This from a professional witness.

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