Met Police officer sacked for crashing police van while eating food then trying to cover it up

It started with a viral video of a police van doing a 'hit and run' on a parked BMW in East London. Now the peckish Police Constable behind the embarrassing clip will be wishing he put road safety before his hunger pangs. The decision to eat his lunch and drive landed Adejuwon Adebiyi in court, but it was his attempt to cover up the crime that cost him his job.

It was around 1:30pm on a Sunday March 17 and PC Adebiyi had placed a box of food on the empty passenger seat of his two-and-a-half tonne cell van, a Ford Transit Custom. Unfortunately we don't know if it was last night's Chinese or 24 chicken nuggets from McDonald's, but an accident report means we can say there was a link between the the food and the collision that followed.

The Forensic Collision Investigation reported noted: "Whilst the BMW was protruding from the parking bay, there was sufficient room for the van to pass. CCTV footage from the van showed PC Adebiyi was eating from a box on the front passenger seat. This appears to have been a sufficient distraction for PC Adebiyi.

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"There were no defects to the van that would have caused or contributed to the collision. The failure in the steering system was as a result of the collision."

The findings were damning for the PC who had told the traffic sergeant and his line manager there was no collision. But this tall tale fell apart when CCTV footage - including a video posted on social media with 144,000 views - showed a clear collision and a loud bang. In the video you can see the police van hit the rear and front wheel of the car before driving off. MyLondon reported the story at the time, and explained what drivers should do if they get into a similar prang.

In a misconduct report, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor wrote even if he was unaware there had been a collision - "which is unlikely" - it would have been reasonable for PC Adebiyi to get out of his vehicle do some investigations to find out what happened.

For his part, PC Adebiyi's representative argued just four minutes and 10 seconds had changed the officer's life, but AC Taylor gave this little weight. "This matter extends beyond the collision itself, to the continued actions in continuing to deny the incident and effectively attempting to cover it up," the panel chairman wrote.

Despite his brazen denials, PC Adebeyi was charged and hauled in front of the bench at Stratford Magistrates' Court where he admitted driving without due care and attention on September 2. Since then the officer also pleaded guilty for failing to stop at the scene of an accident, and failing to report an accident.

'Very much in the public sight'

In the end, AC Taylor, found the allegations proven and noted PC Adebiyi ought to have known he was in an accident and his legal duty to report it. He found the proven allegations were a breach of the standards of Discreditable conduct, Honesty and Integrity and Duties and Responsibilities, and this amounted to gross misconduct.

In coming to the decision to sack the officer and bar him from policing, AC Taylor also noted videos of the incident were published on social media, which put the officer's behaviour 'very much in the public sight'. The chairman also noted that the car owner's husband drove the car home not knowing it was a hazard, which had the potential to cause him harm.

"I do of course understand his remorse and am grateful for his acknowledgement of the impact of this mater," AC Taylor wrote, "However, the gravity of PC Adebiyi’s behaviour means that I do not consider that any sanction less than dismissal without notice is justified."

Got a tip, a court date, or some gossip? Please email callum.cuddeford@reachplc.com or WhatsApp 07580255582.

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