We reported last year that the police were harassing drivers at Kings Cross Taxi Rank. Undercover officers were using body worn cameras to film drivers touching there mobiles while stationary on the rank. We now have a case bought to court where an undercover female officer tried to submit questionable evidence to prosecute an innocent driver.
It has been bought to our attention, that a certain female plain-clothed police officer, intended to offer questionable evidence to a Magistrates court, in order to prosecute a taxi driver who was accused of using his mobile phone while sitting parked, with tripe engine switched off on Kings Criss Taxi rank.
The officer in question let the matter go all the way to court but suddenly, just as the trial was about to get underway…..she suspected something wasn’t right and asked the prosecution to drop the case.
The evidence from the defence team was that the still frame shot of the driver on the original charge sheet and the video from the officers body-cam were not the driver in question but another driver, recorded at a different time to the alleged offence.
Below is a statement from the driver in question:
On the 6 May last year at 21:30 I was parked on the Kings Cross Taxi Rank when an undercover WPC approached the cab making notes. She informed me I was being reported for using a mobile phone while on the public highway I had just picked it up to check the battery was charging as I had previously fitted a new cable.
I thought no more of it as I believed I had done nothing wrong….but to my surprise I received a notice of intended prosecution through the post. Having taken legal advice from a truck accident lawyer, I decided to plead not guilty as I truly believed my action was completely innocent, plus I was very worried as a guilty verdict would put me on 12 points!
I let the payment offer expire and then, when I received the paperwork I pleaded ‘Not Guilty.
Some weeks later I got a copy of her Statement against me and a still photo from her body cam footage showing a picture of an offence being committed…. I thought I had better change my plea to Guilty. But, after closer inspection, I notice the driver in the photo wasn’t me, my lawyers applied for the full body cam footage and yes it appeared to be someone else.
I am of the opinion that, to get me to change my plea…the officer had submitted a false statement, along with a questionable still photo and video, that wasn’t me.
My barrister chose not to disclose these irregularities and was relishing the thought of tearing her to pieces in the witness box, but as my name was being called she called the prosecutor to tell him to drop the case. She kept it going with the questionable evidence till the very last minute, hoping I would change my plea. But, at the very last minute, I believe she suspected her attempt to railroad me photographic evidence that clearly wasn’t me, had been detected and her nerve went.
EXTRA BIT :
This has caused the driver a year of stress but now it’s finally over for him, now it’s her turn, as he intends to take this further. If this officer is found guilty of perverting the course of justice, there are implications for every driver this WPC has harassed and prosecuted over the passed year to eighteen months.
We will keep you informed of our future progress as it could affect every driver who has been prosecuted by this WPC.
Source: Taxileaks
