Staffordshire Police officer shared crash scene footage

Image source, Google

Image caption, PC Andrew Parry attended the collision on the A523 in Leek

A police officer recorded footage of a fatal crash scene and shared it with colleagues, a court has heard.

PC Andrew Parry, 50, attended a collision between a motorcycle and a truck in Leek in April last year.

He transferred his bodycam footage from the scene on to his mobile phone, Staffordshire Police said.

Parry, of Stoke-on-Trent, was convicted of misconduct in a public office and given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

A public misconduct hearing to decide on whether he should continue as a serving police officer would take place in the "near future", Staffordshire Police said.

Parry was found guilty by a jury after a trial at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.

He was also sentenced to 240 hours' unpaid work, and ordered to pay £1,000 costs as well as a £140 victim surcharge within six months.

Parry had attended the collision on the A523 in April last year and showed the footage to colleagues, who then reported him, leading to an internal investigation, police said.

The force said he was suspended from duty at the start of the investigation on 24 May last year.

Deputy Chief Constable Nick Baker said: "When we first discovered PC Parry's actions, our first priority was to speak to the family and ensure they had the support they needed.

"This sort of disrespectful and illegal behaviour is not tolerated at Staffordshire Police and officers worked swiftly to investigate this matter thoroughly."

He added officers were "reminded regularly of their responsibilities to the victim and their family and the misuse of computers laws they agree to uphold".