A POLICE officer from Harlow has been convicted of perverting the course of justice after claiming he was behind the wheel of his car when his uninsured girlfriend had an accident.
PC Christopher Sheldrick (42), of Jocelyns, stated on a form that he was driving the Ford Mondeo estate when it reversed into another vehicle in The Oaks retail park in Harlow last September.
But witnesses to the minor accident saw a woman behind the wheel before the Mondeo drove off without stopping after bumping into an unattended Vauxhall Vectra.
Sheldrick’s partner, Sharon Mitchell, was only a learner driver and was not insured for his car, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.
The Metropolitan officer was convicted by a jury after pleading not guilty to acting with the intention of perverting the course of justice.
When interviewed about the consequences of putting down the wrong information, Sheldrick said: “I would lose my job, definitely".
The jury was told that when Sheldrick - who was based at Harlow police station before his transfer to the Met last year - contacted PC Georgette Beckett at Harlow to find out what the form related to he told her: “I've nothing to worry about because I wasn't driving at the time.”
But giving evidence, Sheldrick said he “could not remember” the conversation.
He said he did not intend to mislead and also denied he had “taken a risk” in putting his details on the driver notification form to avoid the insurance problem being revealed.
He claimed to have not noticed the collision, although his partner had told him she thought she might have touched a vehicle.
When the form arrived, he told the court he did not know which incident it referred to and failed to “put two and two together”.
Judge Christopher Ball QC adjourned sentencing for two weeks pending information about the implications for Sheldrick’s job and pension.
Sheldrick was released on bail.
The judge added that he was not likely to send him immediately to prison for “scraping someone's car in a car park”.
He said: “I need to know how significant the impact will be on him for what is plainly an aberration, an absolute moment of madness, which has brought possible terrible consequences that I will weigh in the balance.”
