A judge has called for a review of 999 speeds after a police officer was jailed for knocking down and killing a young woman.

Pc Nadeem Patel, 28, was driving at more than 80mph before his patrol car struck 25-year-old Shante Daniel-Folkes on Stockwell Road in Brixton, south London, on the evening of June 9 2021.

Ms Daniel-Folkes, from West Norwood in south east London, was thrown into the air, renderered immediately unconscious and died at the scene.

In February, Pc Patel pleaded guilty to causing her death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from driving for 54 months.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC told him: “It is clear from the investigation that has been conducted that you drove at grossly excessive speed, over a not insignificant distance, far in excess of that which was safe given the prevailing road conditions, even making allowance for the fact of responding to an emergency call and not being bound by the speed limit.”

Pc Patel’s case can only now be reported following the conclusion of the Old Bailey trial of Pc Gary Thomson who was driving just ahead of him and was not involved in the collision.

On Monday, he was cleared of dangerous driving but convicted of the lesser offence of careless driving.

Judge Lucraft fined Pc Thomson £500 and gave him five penalty points and ordered him to pay costs of £500.

 

Sentencing him, the judge said: “I note there is no clear guidance provided by the Metropolitan Police on speeds police cars should not exceed in responding to emergency calls when driving in residential areas or roads subject to a speed limit of 30 mph.

“In my judgment further thought should be given to this issue particularly as the speed limits in many residential areas are being further reduced to 20mph.

“Driving at speeds in excess of motorway speeds along roads with the characteristics of Stockwell Road, whist classified as an A road, poses obvious risks.”

Ms Daniel-Folkes had been walking across the road at around 11.20pm close to a pedestrian crossing when Pc Thomson’s vehicle passed her with its emergency lights and siren activated.

Around three to four seconds later, Ms Daniel-Folkes continued to cross and was struck by Pc Patel’s vehicle.

He had earlier switched off his front emergency lights so to not affect Pc Thomson’s vision in the lead vehicle but did have his siren activated.

Although exempt from the 30mph limit, Pc Patel had reached a peak speed of 83.9mph on Stockwell Road just 115 meters from the car’s final stopping point.

The car was travelling around 55mph at the time of the collision after Pc Patel braked for two seconds from a speed of more than 81mph.

The vehicle being driven by Pc Thomson also passed Ms Daniel-Folkes at speeds between 70-79mph.

As he was sentencing Patel in February, Judge Lucraft referred to “moving” statements from her family who described her as “kind, funny, loving, and very creative”.

He said: “She is described as bubbly and carefree – a lover of life and someone who was ambitious. She loved fashion and design. She was a mentor, an artist, a certified nail technician looking forward to opening her own salon and to a bright future for herself and her young son who she adored. She was much loved by all who knew her.

“The family are devastated by the loss of Shante. They express a numb and empty feeling at Shante’s loss and speak about the long-lasting impact on the family and that on Shante’s young son in particular – a son she will not see grow up and make his own way in life.”

The prosecutions followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Rosemary Ainslie, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Shante Daniel-Folkes following this avoidable tragedy.

“Both officers, although not bound by the 30mph speed limit while responding to a 999 call, were driving at motorway speeds in a built-up urban area, with a number of potential hazards in the vicinity.

“These included pedestrians, cyclists, and cars travelling in the other direction, as well as an open convenience store directly at the scene and a nearby pub in which 30-40 customers were present for a quiz night.

“There was an obvious risk of injury to a person from vehicles travelling at that speed in the dark, and both officers fell below the expected standard of a competent and careful driver that evening.

“Pc Patel admitted causing the death of Ms Daniel-Folkes by driving dangerously and I hope his sentence, along with today’s verdict for Pc Thomson, offers some comfort to her family at this extremely difficult time.”

IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: “This incident has had a devastating impact on the lives of Shante Daniel-Folkes’ family and friends and our sympathies remain with them and all those affected by this.

“Pc Patel drove at excessive speeds at night-time throughout busy south London streets and, though he was responding to a report of an emergency incident, it does not excuse his dangerous driving behaviour which tragically resulted in a young woman’s death.

“The convictions of these officers shows that they have been held accountable.”

The IOPC said its investigation identified potential learning for the Met police around creating a policy on speed caps for officers responding to incidents, and whether such caps could improve safety.

It consulted with the force and now plans to make a formal learning recommendation on a speed cap policy.

The police watchdog also recommended the Met review its current practices when officers are driving in convoy or tandem while responding to incidents. The MPS accepted the recommendation and made changes to its policy and training, the IOPC said.

In May 2023, following an accelerated misconduct hearing, Pc Patel was dismissed with immediate effect from the Met and placed on the College of Policing’s barred list – meaning he cannot serve again as an officer.

The IOPC found Pc Thomson had a case to answer for gross misconduct in relation to his driving prior to the collision and, following the verdict, it will progress misconduct proceedings against him with the Met Police.

Commander Seb Adjei-Addoh, who is in charge of the Met’s policing in Lambeth, said: “My thoughts and condolences are with the family of Shante Daniel-Folkes. The circumstances are tragic and have brought upset to our communities in Lambeth.

“Our Police Community Engagement team will be working hard to listen and respond to local concerns stemming from this incident and trial verdict over the coming days.”