Police officer hit colleague's car and drove off

A police constable who crashed into a colleague's car and tried to cover up his tracks has been dismissed by Leicestershire Police.

Elliot Watson hit a parked vehicle, damaging its bumper while reversing into a space in the car park of the force headquarters in Enderby in September 2023, a misconduct hearing was told.

But rather than leaving his details or reporting the collision, the tribunal heard PC Watson moved his car to another part of the car park.

A panel has ruled his actions were unprofessional, lacked honesty and integrity, and amounted to gross misconduct.

CCTV footage had shown the collision taking place.

The hearing was told later the same month, when asked about the crash, PC Watson denied all knowledge.

Following the immediate dismissal of Mr Watson at the hearing this month, Det Supt Alison Tompkins, head of the force's professional standards department, said: "The public, and the force, rightly expect the highest standards of professional behaviour from all police officers and to be able to fully trust us in the work we do."

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