Two Dorset Police officers plead not guilty to dangerous driving

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Two Dorset Police officers have pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving.

Pc Harry Chaplin and Pc Derek Alexander were involved in a two-car crash last July 9.

They appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

Alexander, 52, is charged with dangerous driving while Chaplin, 26, is charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The crash in Littlemoor Road, Weymouth, was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Chaplin and Alexander were in separate cars heading to the scene of an accident involving one vehicle.

The victim’s car was stopped at a junction waiting to turn right.

Alexander’s car drove past it and Chaplin’s was involved in a collision with the stationary vehicle shortly afterwards, the court heard.

One of the passengers of the civilian car was taken to hospital with a brain bleed, Poole Magistrates’ Court was told during their first hearing last month.

Alexander, of Thomas Hardy Quarters, Bovington, and Chaplin, of Lea Road, Weymouth, were released on unconditional bail to appear at the same court on November 6.

Both officers remain on restricted duties, Dorset Police said.