A Norfolk firearms officer at the centre of the hit-and-run scandal suffered an episode of epilepsy that left him with no memory of the crash, a misconduct hearing has ruled. 

PC Karl Warren was behind the wheel of the marked BMW when he drove into the back of a female motorist at 50mph in March 2022.

He was subject to disciplinary proceedings over why he failed to stop or report the crash and whether he was suffering from a form of amnesia at the time, which left him with no memory of the crash.

The misconduct panel, which heard evidence over two days, found that they had no reason to contradict a medical diagnosis that he was suffering from a form of epilepsy that left him “completely unaware of his surroundings”.

Panel chairman Harry Ireland said they were confident that the episode would have meant the officer had “no recollection of events” and would have experienced confusion in the aftermath.

The woman whose car was hit had told the hearing that she had been shocked the police vehicle had not stopped following the collision on the A146 Barnby Bends between Beccles and Lowestoft.

Criminal charges for failing to stop and report the crash were not brought against the officer but police were told to bring misconduct procedures by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The hearing had heard from a second officer, PC Ryan Hargrave, who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time, that PC Warren had mumbled “I don’t know” when asked why he had not stopped after the crash.

The panel also heard PC Warren had experienced an incident of memory loss in 2012 but that had been viewed as a one-off that should not restrict his police duties.

Dr Pablo Garcia Reitbeck, consultant neurologist at St George’s Hospital in London, gave evidence that more recent seizures experienced by the officer had led to a more accurate diagnosis of epilepsy.

His behaviour during and after the crash had been consistent with this, Dr Reitback added.

The panel dismissed charges of gross misconduct and said that PC Warren should face no further action.

He remains employed by Norfolk police but Colin Banham, counsel for PC Warren, said he had effectively lost his career.

“The officer has been through hell. He's been through diagnosis. He's no longer carrying [firearms] and he's no longer driving.,” he said,

"His life has been hugely affected.”