Met Police officer cleared over moped rider’s death during chase

A Metropolitan Police officer has been cleared of causing the death by dangerous driving of an 18-year-old man during a high-speed chase.

Pc Paul Summerson, 44, was prosecuted over the pursuit of moped rider Lewis Johnson, 18, and his pillion passenger Louis Kyriacou, 19, through Stoke Newington, north London, earlier this year.

He was found not guilty at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday of one count of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The police believed Mr Johnson and his passenger were involved in a “smash and grab” theft on February 9, 2016 before the chase.

At the junction, Mr Johnson swerved left to drive alongside a white van before colliding with the van and striking a pole, causing him and his passenger to fall off the moped.

Pc Summerson simultaneously drove on the right-hand side of the van with his lights and sirens on, and his lawyers said the defendant was not to blame for the van driver moving to the left and colliding with Mr Johnson.

Mr Johnson died from his injuries and Mr Kyriacou was left seriously hurt.

During his trial, Pc Summerson said he was “devastated by these tragic events” and insisted that he had been driving safely and had kept a two-second gap behind the moped.

Pc Summerson previously stated that he had been keeping a gap between his car and the moped, that road conditions were light and traffic was less than normal during the chase.

His trial previously heard several statements from Pc Summerson’s colleagues and friends – who referred to him as hardworking, professional, and dedicated to his job as a police officer.

The jury returned its not guilty verdict after deliberating for one hour and 20 minutes.

Pc Summerson, of Alexander Court, Colchester, had no previous convictions and a clean driver’s licence, the court heard.

Following the verdict, Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “We are pleased that Pc Paul Summerson has rightly been found not guilty of the charges inexplicably brought against him over this incident.

“Police officers have no issue with being held accountable for their actions – we are the most accountable of public services. We need those in the criminal justice system making decisions potentially affecting our colleague’s livelihoods and liberty to have some understanding of the environment we work in and the reality of policing London.”

He added: “It’s utterly absurd that this case ever made it to court. Let us emphasise again that Pc Summerson was doing his job … a job that he has been trained to do.”

A spokesperson for the Met Police said that Pc Summerson had remained a police officer since the incident but with limited duty.

Now that a not-guilty verdict had been reached, the force would consider whether any further internal action needed to be taken.