Police officer sentenced for causing death of moped rider

A police officer has been sentenced for causing the death of a moped rider by careless driving following a fatal collision.

PC Ian Brotherton, 32, of the Metropolitan Police, was driving a marked police van on Southbury Road, Enfield, around 3pm on 12 October 2023, while responding to an emergency call using blue lights and sirens. 

As he approached a set of traffic lights showing red at the junction with Baird Road, he did not stop or brake and proceeded across the junction, striking a moped. 

The rider, Christopher De Carvalho Guedes, 26, was thrown from the moped and suffered significant injuries. He was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to the Royal London Hospital, where he later died.

Following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), PC Brotherton was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving as an alternative charge.

At a hearing at the Central Criminal Court on 3 January 2025, PC Brotherton pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, which was accepted by the prosecution based on the facts of the case, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

Today at the same court, he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. 

PC Brotherton was also banned from driving for 30 months and ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work. 

Rachael Taylor, Specialist Prosecutor with the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Cristopher De Carvalho Guedes.

“PC Ian Brotherton was a police response driver and had undertaken training, which included how to safely approach and negotiate traffic lights showing red when engaged on an emergency call.

“But his driving on that day fell below the standard expected of an officer trained to be on London’s roads in such circumstances.

“It is only right that he has been held to account for his actions, which led to this tragic death.”