Officers banned after speeding ticket lie

Two police officers have been banned from serving after breaching honesty and integrity standards over a speeding ticket.

Sgt Harjit Singh, 48, and former PC Samuel Mitchell, 28, from West Mercia Police, were found guilty of gross misconduct and barred following a police conduct hearing on Thursday.

Mitchell had been driving a marked police vehicle above the speed limit in July 2022. He activated a speed camera and was issued with a speeding ticket. He submitted an exemption request form claiming that he had been trying to stop a vehicle that had been involved in an incident.

It was found this was not the case and he had no lawful exemption from speeding and that Sgt Singh had signed the form knowing it contained false information.

The Road Traffic Act exempts emergency vehicles from observing speed limits to lawfully undertake their duties.

Deputy chief constable Rachel Jones said: "We expect our police officers to act honestly and with integrity. These officers, collectively, behaved in a way that was dishonest and abused their position.

"Behaviour like this undermines public confidence in policing, and we make no apology for rooting out individuals who did not meet the standards the public rightly expect."

Both Mitchell and Singh had been based in a response unit at Kidderminster Police Station.

Mitchell resigned from his role in January 2024 but was told at the hearing he would have been dismissed had he not stepped down.

Sgt Singh was dismissed with immediate affect, and both officers were added to the College of Policing Barred List.

The Barred List prevents those added to it from ever working for a UK police service.

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