Driver claimed police who chased him were imposters

Adam Ross Chudley, 41, appeared in court to deny failing to stop for police and dangerous driving. He was found guilty and sentenced to six months in prison.

He claimed that footage from pursuing vehicles and body-worn cameras had been edited to suit police needs.

The pursuit began by the Co-op at Les Bas Courtils, St Sampson’s in the early hours of a Sunday last November and headed north along the coast road.

It only ended when police put a ‘stinger’ across the road by Cobo Butchers which punctured all four tyres on the Nissan Chudley was driving, which was then boxed in by police vehicles a short distance away at Grandes Rocques.

Four police vehicles were involved in the pursuit.

Three windows on his car were smashed during his removal from the car and he was taken to hospital soon after with a head injury.

At no time was the defendant speeding and a roadside breath test at Grandes Rocques was negative.

Prosecuting Advocate Liam Roffey told the court that police officers spotted that the nearside rear lighting cluster on his car was not working.

Camera footage from the pursuing vehicles supported this, though the defendant claimed that the light was working and the footage had been edited.

It showed him driving in the middle of the road on multiple occasions.

At Bordeaux Harbour he cut to the other side of the road to block a police car that was trying to overtake.

He cut the corner at the filter junction by the Vale Church, then failed to stop when turning right at the junction by L’Islet Morrisons on to Route du Picquerel.

Three police officers gave evidence in court. Defending, Advocate Amy Davies put it to each that they were not real police officers.

They had been edited in to the footage of the defendant’s arrest at Grandes Rocques, had never been there, and were now giving false evidence in court. Each denied the allegation.

Chudley told the court how he had been followed by an unmarked black metallic van from by the Co-op at Les Bas Courtils and he was not aware of anyone signalling him to stop. A white estate car had began following him by Vale Castle.

He believed it had false police stickers on it and there was no Guernsey crest.

The flashing lights and the sirens seemed bogus too and that scared him.

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Advocate Roffey said if the defendant was being followed by multiple vehicles that were made up to look like police cars with fake officers in then it must have been terrifying for him. When he asked why he thought that might have happened, Chudley said it was not for him to say.

He did not believe that any of the officers who were involved in stopping him were real and maintained his contention that the camera footage had been edited. He accepted that the Police Station and officers there were real, but he could not recall when things had changed and said he had concussion at the time.

Judge Gary Perry said the defendant might have ‘gone through the looking glass’ but he was not prepared to follow him. He found his account of events had been fanciful and untrue. and had not believed much of what he heard.

He was content that the three officers who appeared in court were not impersonating police and had been present at the arrest scene. He had no doubt that each had told the truth and that the camera footage had not been tampered with.

The defendant had driven on regardless when they trying to stop him, Judge Perry said, and found him guilty of both offences.

He rejected Advocate Davies’ argument that the dangerous driving had been at the lower end of the scale and said it was the first time since becoming a judge in Guernsey that police had had to deploy a ‘stinger’ and use boxing-in driving techniques with vehicles. The examples of dangerous driving might not have resulted in prosecution individually, but had to be considered in the whole. He sentenced him to six months in prison for that, starting from 20 November when he was initially remanded in custody. A three-year driving ban was also imposed with a three-month ban, concurrent, for failing to stop.

Chudley had UK convictions on his record for drink-driving from 2011 and 2013, and matters of drug possession, criminal damage and disorderly behaviour which pre-dated 2013.