Jade Mutua: Father of woman killed by police car calls for speed cap

Jade Mutua was training to be a social worker

The father of a woman knocked down and killed by a police car travelling at 62mph in a 30mph zone moments before it hit her has called for a speed cap for police officers in built-up areas.

Jade Mutua, 22, died after she was hit by the Met Police car in Kensington, west London, in August 2019.

The police watchdog has said the driving officer was not at fault.

Ms Mutua's father Jermaine Laxmidas said a legal speed limit for police officers would "save lives".

The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), concluded on Friday that the Metropolitan Police officer who was driving, "acted in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures".

An inquest into her death, which ended last week at Westminster Coroner's Court, concluded Ms Mutua died as a result of a road traffic accident.

• Father wants closure after daughter hit by police car

Ms Mutua's death follows the case of Shante Daniel-Folkes, 25, who was also hit and killed by a Met Police car, this time in Brixton, south London, on 9 June 2021. Her parents also want to see police officers subjected to a speed cap in built-up areas.

A police officer was jailed for three years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving in the case of Ms Daniel-Folkes.

He had been travelling 84mph in a built-up area seconds before the crash.

At the sentencing hearing in February, Judge Mark Lucraft KC called for the Met Police to consider setting maximum speed limits for officers responding to incidents in residential areas.

The IOPC said it was planning to make a formal learning recommendation to the force on a speed cap policy following the case.

Jermaine Laxmidas called for a law that limits how fast a police officer can drive when responding to a call-out

Mr Laxmidas said Ms Mutua had been training to be a social worker when she was hit by the marked police car on Warwick Road on 13 August 2019.

She died two days later in hospital when her life support machine was switched off.

Mr Laxmidas said he was "shocked" to hear the driving officer talk at the inquest about how fast the Met Police drive when responding to an incident.

He called for a change in the law so that police forces are limited to a maximum speed on a call-out.

"It could have been a kid, it could have been anybody stepping out of that road," he said. "There's got to be a set limit because otherwise it's left to the individual."

He has since founded The Jade Mutua Foundation Trust in memory of his daughter, which provides financial support to young people living in London, and builds on Ms Mutua's ambition to become a social worker.

A Met Police spokesperson said: "Police drivers receive extensive training to make decisions about the appropriate use of speed on a case-by-case basis, considering all of the available information and individual circumstances known at the time."

The IOPC investigation concluded in November 2020 but the findings were announced last week following the conclusion of the inquest.

Regional IOPC director Charmaine Arbouin said: "My thoughts and sympathies are with Ms Mutua's family, friends and all those affected by her untimely and tragic death, including the officers involved.

"Our investigation found no indication that any Metropolitan Police Service officers behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or had committed a criminal offence."

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