PC Mark Burrows stands accused of killing Heather Smedley in December 2022
A police officer was travelling at around 80mph prior to a crash which killed a mum-of-three as he pursued a stolen Audi, a jury heard(Image: MEN)
The colleague of a police officer accused of killing a 53-year-old woman said there is ‘absolutely nothing’ he would’ve done differently in the lead up to the fatal collision. PC Mark Burrows, 45, is on trial for causing death by dangerous driving following the death of Heather Smedley in December 2022.
The charge followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which said that an unmarked police car had been in pursuit of an Audi A3 that officers believed was stolen.
The police car collided with a Peugeot 108 at the junction of Oldham Road and Otmoor Way in Royton, the IOPC said. Ms Smedley, the driver of the Peugeot, died at the scene.
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Mr Burrows, who was described as a serving police constable with Greater Manchester Police, was in pursuit of a suspected stolen Audi A3 at the time, jurors at Chester Crown Court were told yesterday (April 30).
He was on duty in a ‘high-powered’, unmarked Volkswagen Golf R and was a member of GMP’s Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit.
At the time of the collision, the Golf was double crewed by PC Burrows and his colleague PC Jack Hardy, who took to the stand in court on Thursday.
PC Hardy, who witnessed the fatal collision, told the jury that looking back at the events leading up to the incident which killed Mrs Smedley, there is ‘absolutely nothing [he] would have done differently’.
The court heard that PC Hardy had not seen Mrs Smedley’s indicator light, which suggested she planned to turn right in front of the fast-moving police car, and that even if he had, they were travelling too quickly to stop.
CCTV footage shown to the court shows the unmarked police car – driven by Burrows with Hardy in the passenger seat – travelling at speeds of 70 to 80mph, weaving in and out of traffic while pursuing the suspected stolen Audi A3.
The police car then approaches a line of traffic and goes to overtake, but collides with the side of Mrs Smedley’s Peugeot 108 as she went to turn right from the main road.
Defending, Samuel Green KC referred to the College of Policing risk guidelines, highlighting ‘police must be willing to take risks rather than avoid them,’ and ‘harm can never be fully prevented’.
Taking to the stand, PC Hardy agreed with Mr Green that the police force must ‘take risks’ in order to carry out their duties.
Mr Hardy told the court: “Sometimes doing nothing is worse than doing something in some cases.”
Burrows, of Broadstone Hall Road South, Reddish, Stockport, denies causing death by dangerous driving and an alternative charge of causing death by careless driving.
Proceeding
