PC Nick Dumphreys: Faulty police car decision too late, widow says

Kathryn Dumphreys said BMW's decision to stop providing police with the cars was "too little, too late for Nick"

The widow of a police officer who died in a faulty car said a decision to stop selling the models to forces "should have been taken years ago".

PC Nick Dumphreys, 47, died while responding to an emergency call on the M6 near Carlisle in 2020.

BMW is closing its division selling to UK forces after many restricted the use of its cars with the same engine.

Kathryn Dumphreys said it was "the first step in the right direction" but "too little, too late for Nick".

"It is glaringly obvious that these cars were not and, in my view, are still not fit or safe for UK policing purposes," she said.

An inquest found a broken part in the N57 engine of the BMW police car PC Dumphreys had been driving had cut the supply of oil, which then ignited.

It heard there had been similar incidents involving police cars with the same type of engine.

Carlisle coroner Robert Cohen recorded a conclusion of accidental death and said PC Dumphreys, who was an advanced driver, could not have prevented the crash.

Mrs Dumphreys has criticised the National Police Chiefs' Council for not withdrawing existing models from service immediately

Mrs Dumphreys said: "The rate of the engine failures in these BMWs, which was between five and seven a month from 2014 to 2017, was described by the independent engineering expert as 'extraordinary' and by the coroner as 'startling'.

"I firmly believe that had these cars been withdrawn from UK policing years ago, as they should have been, Nick would still be alive."

BMW said the problem with the engine was down to the "particular way" police use the cars and there was "no need for action on any civilian vehicles".

Mrs Dumphreys has criticised the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) for not withdrawing existing models from service immediately.

"Why do they still require our officers to drive these cars, which have proved to be dangerous, nearly three years after Nick's death?" she said.

NPCC head of police driving Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said vehicles assessed as "at risk and unsuitable for police use" had been removed from service.

"Any remaining usable BMWs with the engine type identified are subject to rigorous monitoring," he said.