Police officer lied in statement to cover colleague's car crash

Donna Coker, 34, provided a false statement after her colleague PC Varinder Sehmi was involved in a crash at Uxbridge Road in Ealing on August 6, 2017, at around 7.35am.

The crash had left the civilian driver with serious injuries, including multiple fractures.

In her statement, Coker claimed that the driver of the car looked drunk, and that she had discussed this with her other colleagues securing the scene at the time.

CCTV evidence however showed that she had not approached the driver as she had claimed.

After sending the false statement to her manager some months later, Coker also forwarded it on to Sehmi himself saying: “FYI my statement is done. Hope it helps.”

Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court which concluded today (June 21), Coker was convicted of one count of perverting the court of justice.

Paul Goddard, from the CPS, said: “This was a deliberate attempt to thwart a police investigation into a car crash by a serving police officer.

“PC Donna Coker tried to help her colleague by placing the blame for the collision onto an injured civilian driver. Coker’s actions were dishonest and were carried out in order to cast inaccurate smears on the other driver.

“The prosecution was able to present video evidence, including PC Coker’s own body worn footage, which clearly showed she had barely engaged with the civilian driver – and had therefore lied when asserting in her statement that she had had a close look at him, and formed the opinion he was drunk. The victim also gave evidence during the trial, describing the aftermath of the crash that left him trapped inside his car and requiring hospital treatment.

“The CPS will always aim to prosecute those who break the law regardless of who they are.”

Sehmi was previously sentenced to nine months imprisonment and suspended for 18 months in a separate trial after being convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Coker will be sentenced on July 19 this year.