Page 13 - WMPF Federation Magazine February / March 2018

Tim Rogers (left) with Sir Henry Bellingham at Westminster.
And speaking at the national Federation And, to highlight the very real that the up and coming trial had
conference last May, Tim argued the current consequences of the current law, Merseyside overshadowed the birth of his second
law was unsatisfactory and unworkable police officer James Ellerman gave a daughter. His life, he said, was put on hold.
leaving officers risking their liberty and presentation at conference, talking about his He explained that he felt he had no
livelihood. own experiences of being prosecuted for alternative but, using his knowledge, training
He won the support of West Mercia’s Chief dangerous driving after preventing a man and experience to cause the collision. He
Constable Anthony Bangham, roads policing who had been riding a motorcycle recklessly in feared someone would be injured or killed if
lead at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, who Liverpool returning to the city centre by the motorcyclist was not stopped.
said he would work closely with the knocking him from the vehicle using his police “I had to stop him returning to the city, I
Federation on the issue. van. couldn’t do nothing,” said James, explaining
At the time, Tim told conference: “We are He talked about the stress he went that he felt he had to fulfil his duties of
not asking for you to be able to drive carelessly through during the investigation, the protecting the public, protecting property and
and dangerously. But the training you get has sleepless nights, shaking with fear at the that the motorcyclist posed a risk to the
thought of being sent to prison and the fact
public.
to be reflected in roads policing legislation.”
“ It was good to see this issue getting the was riding a stolen bike and was disqualified
On arresting the motorcyclist, he found he

from driving. He thought that would be the
support at Parliament that it deserves.
end of it but it was just the beginning. He was
served with gross misconduct papers and
There is still a way to go in this process but
prosecuted.
The judge finally cleared him, saying of

I am optimistic that, after seven years of
James’ intervention ‘he was damned if he did
and damned if he didn’t’.
watching our members falling foul of the Sir Henry assured MPs that his bill is not a
charter for blue light drivers to act
law just for doing their jobs, we will get irresponsibly but would protect officers who
are following their training and exercising
legislation that supports them in the their professional judgment. The bill was
accepted with cross-party sponsors and no
difficult job they do. dissent.
The bill is due to have its second reading in
Parliament on Friday 16 March 2018.

www.westmidspolfed.com federation February/March 2018 13
“