A police force has issued an apology after three police officers were caught on camera laughing about the death of Paul Hardcastle’s son.
Paul Jr, 35, was killed after crashing his motorbike into a van while being pursued by officers in Essex in January.
Footage found by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) showed three female police joking about the incident.
A transcript showed one officer, not involved in the initial chase operation, sniggered following the suggestion that Paul Jr had complained about police failure to investigate an incident which cause £750 of damage to his vehicle.
Addressing the subject, she quipped that officers could ‘consider that closed’, adding ‘every cloud’.
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An investigation had found that the officers had behaved appropriately in the pursuit, with Hardcastle initially thanking one member of the force for try to save his son.
The chart-topping singer however,said he was ‘just completely stunned’ that the officers had joked about his son’s death.
‘How do they treat members of the public who are alive if that’s how they treat the dead?’, he asked.
Hardcastle dismissed the officers’ sanction – reflective practice – as a ‘box-ticking exercise that will have no impact on their conduct’.
An inquest heard that Paul Jr, who had followed his father’s footsteps as a DJ and saxophonist, had died of chest and abdominal injuries at 6.40pm after the fatal crash on the A414 in Bobbingworth.
Chief Superintendent Scott Egerton said the officers’ conduct was ‘needless, insensitive and unacceptable’ and apologised ‘unreservedly’ for the distress caused to Paul Jr’s family.
He said: ‘When this matter was brought to our attention, we took action.
‘Our Professional Standards Department investigated the matter, and the behaviour was addressed directly with the officers involved.
‘I want Mr Hardcastle’s family to know that we recognise the hurt these comments have caused and that they should never have been put in this position.’
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