Detective fined for death crash

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A detective who caused the death of a motorist when he lost control of his police car has been fined 13-days pay, the maximum under police regulations.

Dyfed-Powys Police detective Ashley Brice, 33, from Kerry near Newtown, Powys was banned from driving at Caernarfon Crown Court last August.

He was also fined him £2,000 for driving without due care.

A force conduct hearing into the case imposed a £1,077 fine and said he would need a driving retest and retraining.

The hearing considered the outcome of the court case and the detective's service history in determining the fine.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) managed an investigation into the accident which caused the death of Gareth Edward James 43, from Llandegley, near Llandrindod Wells in October 2005.

Police forces campaign on road safety issues and it is right that the public should expect police officers to both uphold and respect driving laws IPCC Commissioner for Wales Tom Davies

An IPCC spokesman said once Brice had served his driving ban he was required by the court to retake his driving test.

Dyfed-Powys Police would then require him to undergo driver retraining before being assessed to return to driving duties.

The trial jury at Caernarfon heard how Brice, a surveillance officer, tried to overtake a convoy of three cars by crossing into the oncoming lane on the A483 near Dolfor, close to Newtown, on October 10, 2005.

But as he took a sharp bend in the road - which has a 60mph (96.5kph) speed limit - Brice tried to pull back into the left lane and hit the kerb before careering into the path of Mr James.

Brice argued in court that the car's braking mechanism failed and that caused him to collide with Mr James.

On Tuesday IPCC Commissioner for Wales, Tom Davies, said: "Our thoughts are with Gareth James's family, who suffered a terrible loss as a result of DC Brice's driving.

"Police forces' campaign on road safety issues and it is right that the public should expect police officers to both uphold and respect driving laws.

"The misconduct outcome follows a court trial and a further retrial, and this now brings the IPCC investigation to an end."

A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police added: "The internal misconduct panel has to take into account the conviction, and the outcome from the court, in deciding the internal sanction.

"At the hearing, the outcome of the panel was that the officer be fined the maximum amount permitted under police regulations.

"Dyfed-Powys Police wishes to sincerely apologise to the family of Gareth James for the loss of his life as a result of the actions of a serving officer.

"We understand that the officer involved also wishes to offer his apologies to the family for his conduct."