‘I am so sorry’ – Officer accused of dangerous driving tells jury he made a ‘huge mistake’

Hyundai driver Chantel Jassi suffered a broken leg and bruising as a result of the crash which happened at the Penn Road and Rookery Lane junction in Penn, in Wolverhampton, at about 11.45pm on April 7 last year. Firearms officer Pc Dean Dobson was at the wheel of an unmarked BMW X5 travelling at high speed in a 30mph zone while on his way to a serious incident in Wombourne in neighbouring South Staffordshire district. Giving evidence on oath the defendant, now aged 35, told the jury he “100 per cent” accepted that it was wrong to drive through the junction at speeds of 55mph instead of the training standard of four mph.

Defence counsel Mr Oliver Jarvis asked: “Was your driving below the standard?” Dobson, who was in tears throughout giving evidence, replied:”Yes it was. I can only say that I have made an error of judgement.

I used that green light in the distance that I thought was the only one. I am so sorry. It was a huge mistake.”

Mr Jarvis then asked him: “Your case is that you did make a mistake, but not far below the standard expected?” At that stage trial judge Simon Ward interrupted Mr Jarvis saying: “That is a matter for the jury. We have heard what he said.”

Dobson, based at Stafford, then said: “I never set out to intentionally cause harm to anyone.” He is on trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Mr Jarvis also asked him: “The alternative charge of causing serious injury by careless driving has been explained to the jury.

Would say you were guilty of careless driving? Dobson, wearing a light grey suit, nodded in response to that question. He told the jury that the unmarked response car’s sirens along with the blue lights were switched on at the time of the collision and that he did not notice the red light which was closer to him as he was focussed on the green light at the Colway Road junction further ahead.

The court also heard that Dobson and colleague Pc Christopher Murcott were following a 45-mile route from Uttoxeter along the A50 towards Lichfield, then the A5 and A449 towards Wombourne on the Wolverhampton-Staffordshire border, after reports that two people armed with machetes were seen at a pub. Ms Jassi was on her way to collect a relative when her car was struck while travelling correctly on green lights and was treated for her injuries at New Cross Hospital. Dobson, of Tawney Close, Kidsgrove, in Staffordshire, denies the allegations.

The trial continues.