Fatal crash police officer was 'told not to drive'

A former detective chief inspector who blacked out at the wheel and killed a father-of-two in a crash had been told by a doctor to stop driving a decade before, a court has heard.

Michael Cooper was a serving officer with Derbyshire Police when he crashed his unmarked police car in Etwall in September 2021, killing educational psychologist James Bane, 50, and throwing a woman into the air.

The 55-year-old pleaded guilty last week to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

At Nottingham Crown Court on Friday he was jailed for three years and seven months.

Samuel Skinner KC, prosecuting, described how Bane, an educational psychologist, and a colleague who cannot be named for legal reasons had just left a nearby school and were stood near parked cars in Egginton Road.

Cooper, who was on duty and using the black Peugeot 208 without authorisation, had left Etwall Leisure Centre and was driving without his seatbelt on.

Skinner said car data showed Cooper's foot was pressed on the accelerator when it swung to one side.

Bane's companion was struck and thrown into the air while he was crushed between two parked cars shunted together by the impact.

The court heard Bane, who had two teenage children, died in the road of pelvic injuries.

After the collision, Cooper, from Etwall, was "confused" and told members of the public he was a painter and decorator and did not know who the prime minister was, the court heard.

In a subsequent police interview he suggested he may have passed out at the wheel but refused officers permission to access his medical records.

However the court heard he had been asked by a neurologist in 2009 to stop driving and contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) because he had episodes of randomly collapsing.

Skinner said: "The defendant should not have been behind the wheel of that unmarked police car that day because he had an unexplained medical history of blackouts that occurred without warning.

"Years before this incident, the defendant had been told by a consultant neurologist not to drive and to inform the DVLA about his blackouts.

"But he did not tell the DVLA about the blackouts, neither did he tell his employer or car insurer."

Skinner added that in August 2024 Cooper was found to have committed gross misconduct and would have been dismissed from the force had he not already resigned.

In a victim impact statement, Bane's wife Katherine said: "When James was killed everything I knew was ripped away.

"Our family unit was torn apart and everything about my life changed overnight and I became a single parent looking after two broken children,"

She added: "I've had to live with the loss of my husband, loss of the father of my children, loss of the future we had planned and the loss of five years trapped in a truly hideous no man's land waiting for this day."

Defence barrister Adrian Keeling KC read aloud a letter from Cooper, which said: "I can't begin to imagine the unbearable pain and grief following the death of Mr Bane in particular. I'm deeply sorry."

Sentencing Cooper, Mr Justice Sweeting told the defendant there was a "callous disregard of potential danger", adding: "Your guilt lies in the decision to drive at all."

He added: "The risk may have been intermittent and unpredictable, but it was a risk you knew existed."

Cooper was also banned from driving for five years after the completion of his prison sentence and will have to take an extended retest if he is deemed medically fit to drive in the future.

Emily Barry, director of engagement for the Independent Office of Police Conduct, said: "There is evidence to suggest ex-DCI Cooper made a conscious decision to drive, despite his condition, and also failed to inform the DVLA of his previous black outs despite written advice to do so on more than one occasion.

"He has now been held accountable for his actions and received a jail sentence."

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