Following an investigation by the force’s Professional Standards Department, former Special Constable Billy Lurton was found to have driven marked police vehicles in excess of the speed limit on multiple occasions between June and September 2024.
Records show he breached the speed limit on 75 occasions, and nine of those journeys recorded a maximum speed in excess of 100mph.
The volunteer officer held a ‘basic’ police permit meaning he was driving beyond his training and skills and was therefore not authorised to use the exemptions to speed limits afforded to police officers responding to emergencies.
An accelerated misconduct hearing chaired by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington took place at Essex Police headquarters last Tuesday.
Former SC Lurton’s actions were found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour in the areas of Orders and Instructions, Duties and Responsibilities and Discreditable Conduct.
The hearing found his actions amounted to gross misconduct and he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.
Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: “Police officers are fully trained to respond quickly to emergencies, be aware of and respond to emerging hazards on the roads and to get to an incident safely so that they can keep our communities safe and prevent crime.
“The standards and quality of police driver training are high, and every police driver undertakes extensive initial and regular refresher training to ensure they remain safe.”
“We have increased the number of response drivers and there was no justification for former Special Constable Billy Lurton to drive at those speeds, putting himself, colleagues and the public at risk.
“We will always treat road safety as a priority with drivers both inside and outside the force being held accountable for their poor and dangerous driving decisions.”
