Dismissed officer showed 'disregard' while driving

Former PC Oliver Lewis had been warned numerous times about his driving

A former police officer used blue lights on his car without having proper training, a misconduct hearing has heard.

Nottinghamshire Police said that in February former PC Oliver Lewis drove through a red light, a pedestrian crossing and activated blue lights when he did not have the authority to do so.

The hearing was told the officer, who had served with the police since May 2022, had only passed his basic driver training, meaning he was not allowed to use emergency signals on his way to calls.

The meeting concluded that Mr Lewis, who left the force before proceedings began, was guilty of misconduct and would have been dismissed if he were still a police officer.

The force said the former officer had been warned on numerous occasions about the manner of his driving.

This included a written warning in December 2024 for activating blue lights and driving over the speed limit when he did not have the relevant training.

On 15 February 2025, PC Lewis drove from Riverside Police Station to attend an incident where a man was refusing to leave a licensed premises in the city centre, again on blue lights.

The hearing was told the former officer took "full responsibility for his actions" and described his behaviour as "short-sighted" rather than being with ill intent or malice.

Temporary Chief Constable Steve Cooper, who chaired the misconduct hearing, said: "This officer has shown a complete disregard to prior warnings.

"His conduct was repeated and persistent and it occurred even after he knew that it was wrong."