Leamington man jailed after injuring policewoman with car

A Leamington man whose car struck a policewoman as he drove after being stopped later abandoned it after crashing into another car.
Warwickshire Justice CentreWarwickshire Justice Centre
Warwickshire Justice Centre

But Joseph Considine was traced and arrested, and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, assaulting the officer and failing to stop after an accident.

Considine, 29, of Edmondscote Road, Leamington, was jailed for 14 months by a judge at Warwick Crown Court who also banned him from driving for three years and seven months.

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Prosecutor Sophie Murray said that on August 7 last year the police stopped a Seat Leon Turbo in Lansdowne Street, Leamington, because they believed it had no insurance.

Warwickshire Justice CentreWarwickshire Justice Centre
Warwickshire Justice Centre

The driver, Considine, got out, and was spoken to before one of the officers returned to their vehicle to check his details, leaving Pc Samantha Stanford by the Seat.

Suddenly Considine got back in and started the car, and as Pc Stanford took hold of the door handle to try to stop him, the car struck her, causing bruising to her thigh.

Considine sped off towards Hill Street, and when Pc Stanford and her colleague then carried out a search of the area, they found it damaged and abandoned in Lillington Road.

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It had hit another car, injuring one of the occupants, and both front airbags had inflated before Considine had got out and made off from the scene, but was later arrested.

The court heard that in an impact statement Pc Stanford said she had done her best to return to work, but that it had caused her family concern for her safety in the job.

And she pointed out: “When I am not a police officer, I am somebody’s mum, somebody’s daughter and somebody’s sister.”

Miss Murray added that when Considine was interviewed he said he had panicked after being stopped, and ‘just kept driving’ until he crashed.

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Nick Devine, defending, said that at 29 Considine, who had not been to prison since 2014, ‘is growing up,’ and his partner is 22 weeks pregnant with twins.

“So he has something else in his life which will help to keep him stable,” said Mr Devine, who conceded it was fortunate that the injuries caused were relatively minor.

But jailing Considine, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC told him: “Although she received only slight injury, there was the potential for it being much more serious.

“She finds you treated her with contempt, and I can do nothing but agree. She has had to focus on whether she wants to continue working as a police officer.

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“I have absolutely no doubt you realised you had struck that officer, but you didn’t stop.

“You then drove on the wrong side of the road and you struck another car as it was turning left, and you ran off because you are a coward.”

After serving his sentence and the three-year driving ban which follows it, Considine was told he will have to take an extended test before getting his licence back.

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