Cambridgeshire PC Lee Rumsey cleared of dangerous driving
- Published
PC Lee Rumsey was said to have twice driven his patrol car at the fleeing suspect
A police officer has been cleared of driving dangerously after steering his marked car into a suspect.
PC Lee Rumsey, 50, was pursing another vehicle along Morley Way in Peterborough on 29 August 2017 at the time of the incident.
Cambridge Crown Court heard PC Rumsey, who denied dangerous driving, drove at a man as he fled, but the officer said he had "hit the wrong pedal".
A jury found him unanimously not guilty on Thursday.
During his trial, the court heard PC Rumsey had been with a colleague, Sgt Declan McDonagh, on a routine Cambridgeshire Police patrol when they pursued a silver Mercedes after it over-steered on a roundabout.
The Mercedes then crashed and the driver ran off.
Prosecutor Benedict Peers claimed the officer twice drove deliberately at the fleeing suspect, however, he said PC Rumsey told his colleague "sorry mate, I had a senior moment and hit the wrong pedal".
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Following the verdict, Liz Groom, chair of Cambridgeshire Police Federation, tweeted to say the officer was "just doing his job... pursuing a fleeing suspect, catching criminals".
Morley Way runs through an industrial estate in the south of Peterborough
- Published20 May 2019
