Northamptonshire Police has admitted it failed Harry Dunn and his family after a report found officers prioritised the welfare of the suspect in the case over the investigation.
The 19-year-old died in 2019 after US state department employee Anne Sacoolas – who was driving a car on the wrong side of the road – hit his motorbike near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
However, Sacoolas was not immediately arrested following the crash and was able to flee the country, claiming diplomatic immunity, because police did not believe a “necessity test” had been met.
An independent report, published on Wednesday, has now criticised the force’s senior leadership for their handling of the case – including describing its former chief constable as having a “detrimental” impact.
Harry Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles said she welcomed the findings.
She told Sky News: “Unfortunately, we were treated extremely poorly. All the authorities wanted to shut us down…
“This report does validate everything, of the way we felt and everything that we’ve been put through. To be treated as we were, as the victims of a serious crime, we were let down really, really badly.”
Following a long fight for justice by Mr Dunn’s family, Sacoolas eventually pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving via video link at the Old Bailey in December 2022.
She later received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
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Following the report, Assistant Chief Constable Emma James said in a statement: “On behalf of Northamptonshire Police, I want to apologise to Harry’s family for what is now clear was a failure on our part to do the very best for the victim in this case, Harry, and his family who fought tirelessly in the years that followed to achieve justice for him.
“The picture which emerges is one of a force which has failed the family on a number of fronts”.
She also added: “It was vitally important that Northamptonshire Police conducted this review into the most high-profile case in the force’s history, a case where clear and significant shortcomings have now been properly and independently unearthed.”
The report, which has 38 recommendations, found that Nick Adderley, who was sacked as head of the force last year after lying about his military record, had caused a breakdown in relations with Mr Dunn’s family.
It also revealed that his “erroneous statements” about Sacoolas’s immunity status led the Foreign Office to contact the force asking him not to repeat them.
Read more:
Harry Dunn’s family’s fight for justice never wavered
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Danielle Stone, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire, said Mr Adderley’s behaviour was “unfathomable”.
She added that the report “makes really clear his culpability.”
The report also said Northamptonshire Police potentially had a culture of not arresting suspects “in circumstances such as these, which could lead to evidence not being obtained”. It recommended that the force adopt an “investigative mindset” over serious road crashes.
Regarding the decision not to arrest Sacoolas, the report said the decision had not been “explained in enough detail”. It added: “The overriding factor in the decision appears to be the welfare of the suspect and her suffering from shock, with little to no consideration around the full necessity test under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
“A prompt and effective investigation was not considered or articulated. The view is that in these circumstances the suspect could and should have been arrested to assist the evidence-gathering process.”
The report continued: “The duty (police sergeant) made the decision not to arrest.
“The rationale was largely based on a belief that the necessity test was not met, and information received that Anne Sacoolas was in shock.
“Whilst the welfare of any person is a concern for officers, this should not have prevented the arrest of Anne Sacoolas.”
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Ms Charles, who was recently honoured with an MBE after her campaigning efforts led to road safety improvements near US airbases, said: “I don’t think you’re ever done grieving. There’s never any closure to losing a child. You live with it, it’s so profound.
“So the only thing I would ever say to anybody else who feels that they’ve got a fight ahead of them, dig deep, do your best, because you just never know the resilience that you’ve got until you absolutely have to find it.”
