A police federation has slammed an investigation by a watchdog which put an officer through “five years of hell” only to exonerate him. PC Louie Wellfare quit policing entirely over stress he faced during an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into a crash. His car and a taxi collided in Brighton in July 2019.
The incident left a pedestrian with life-changing injuries. Despite being cleared of wrongdoing in court, the IOPC carried out its own investigation, something the Sussex Police Federation has slammed as a “waste of public money”. Criticising the IOPC case Sussex Police Federation chairman Raffaele Cioffi said: “We have now brought an officer through five years of hell, during which time he has suffered both physically and mentally.
It has pressured the officer into making the tough decision to resign from policing and start fresh in a new career where he can leave this witch hunt to take place in the background. The crash in Bear Road, Brighton “The IOPC have wasted the public’s money on a gross misconduct hearing that simply didn’t need to take place, which is an appallingly wasteful decision. “Will the appalling handling of this case be reviewed and responsibility taken by the IOPC decision maker – as would happen in the police? Probably not, as it seems the IOPC are above criticism.
“My sympathies go out to former PC Wellfare in this matter. Our officers are doing an incredible job defending the public against those that .