The family of a woman who died after being hit by a police officer escorting a Royal Family member have spoken out after he was found not guilty of causing death by careless driving.
Helen Holland, 81, lost her life two weeks after she was sent hit by a motorcycle while at a pedestrian crossing in West Cromwell Road, west London, on 10 May 2023.
The vehicle in question was escorting Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh through the UK capital city.
The trial at the Old Bailey previously heard that Metropolitan Police officer Christopher Harrison, 68, was travelling at between 44mph and 58mph as he approached the crossing, which had a 30mph speed limit.
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However, last Thursday (13 November), the jury came to their conclusion on the case and acquitted PC Harrison after deliberating for two hours and 25 minutes.
After the verdict was returned, a person shouted from the public gallery: "You ruined our family with no consequences."
And now, Helen's family have spoken out in an interview to ITV News, saying they feel 'cheated' and 'devastated' and the not guilty verdict sends a clear message that officers are 'above the law'.
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In the wake of the tragedy, they are now demanding changes to the way police escorts operate.
Helen's brother Chris Holmes told the news channel: "If the policeman is not guilty of careless driving, then she’s guilty of careless walking. I feel there’s a terrible injustice."
He and Helen's granddaughter Kelly Williams accused the decision of shifting responsibility onto Helen, even though the pedestrian signal was green.
Kelly added: "This is just an example of a two-tier justice system. The police are above the law.”
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She went on to urge the public to be more vigilant when crossing roads, even when it looks like its safe to do so, as she believes 'more people will die at the hands of the police because they can just go through a red light, kill a pedestrian when it's their right of way'.
PC Harrison's defence was that Helen 'just appeared' in front of him, however her family disagree with this entirely.
He said: "She was just there in front of me. She just appeared, between the kerb line and the point of collision. At no point did I see her on the island, I’m sorry."
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Under cross-examination, he accepted he forgot to switch on his body-worn camera and did not use his whistle as he approached the pedestrian crossing but insisted he had not been complacent that day.
Chris said: "You should have seen her,” while Kelly added: "He went through at speed and smashed my nan to pieces."
PC Harrison, who had 21 years of experience in the specialist escort group, said he 'couldn’t put it into numbers' how many times he had undertaken the journey and that he was 'very familiar' with the route.
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A court heard that Helen was 2.9 metres onto the crossing when the motorbike hit her and she suffered a skull fracture, bruising to her arms, legs and body, plus fractures to her lower legs.
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as complications from a severe head injury.
ITV News reported that Commander Adam Slonecki, who runs aviation and protective security at the Met Police, said police escort riders now have bullhorns fitted to their motorcycles and that lessons had been learned by the tragedy.
However, Helen's family believe this is still not enough and are calling for outriders to be required to stop and physically control pedestrian crossings that are showing a green signal.
They also want to see a new rule implement an upper age limit for officers carrying out high-speed escort duties and for VIP convoys to travel at normal road speeds when there's no emergency.
Kelly said: “Had they done that on that day, my nan would still be here."
She added that she thought Harrison was too old for the job of a police escort.
While Chris added of the Duchess: "She was on her way back to Windsor for tea. What was the necessity for speed?"
Topics: Royal Family, Police, UK News, Crime, News
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Madison Burgess