This is the shocking moment a female police officer flips her patrol car before lying and saying an animal ran in front of the vehicle.
Police constable Charlotte Morris appeared in front of a disciplinary panel to explain why she made up the story about an animal running in front of her vehicle, which she said caused her to crash, leaving the car on its roof.
The Thames Valley Police officer was driving in Eton Wick, Berkshire, on 27 August 2023, when she hit a parked BMW, causing minor damage to the car.
While in hospital being treated for minor injuries she claimed she was avoiding a fox or badger in the road, but footage showed the car clipping the BMW at speed before swerving over to the other side of the road and flipping over onto its roof.
The panel found she had ‘simply drifted’ the car into the BMW and found her guilty of gross misconduct, saying her lie was an example of ‘operational dishonesty’.
Morris, who was previously based in Slough, was sacked without notice.
In February 2024, she admitted an offence of careless driving and was handed five penalty points on her licence, and ordered to pay a £266 fine, £90 in costs and a £106 victim surcharge.
Footage shows the patrol car driven by Ms Morris clipping a parked BMW on the roadside
The car flies across to the other side of the road, turning onto its side as it goes
The vehicle then ends up on its roof on a grass verge on the opposite side of the road
The panel found the crash had had a ‘severe impact in terms of injuries and stress’ on the former officer. She suffered minor head injuries and a back injury, which required a some physiotherapy.
She was in the car with a colleague at the time of the crash, but neither suffered any lasting injuries
The panel said it regretted that she would be sacked, but noted that it was the least serious outcome it could pass given Thames Valley Police misconduct rules.
In it’s ruling, it said: ‘If the public knew about the actions of this officer in deliberately lying to avoid or reduce the negative consequences of the accident, it would have a very serious negative effect on public confidence in policing.’
