Met Police to pay damages to family of man killed by police van despite judge ruling he was to blame

Scotland Yard must pay around £500,000 in court costs and compensation

Scotland Yard must pay around £500,000 in court costs and compensation to the family of an antiques dealer run over and killed by a police van, despite a High Court judge saying the pedestrian was more to blame.
Sgt Thomas Upton hit John Mills, 71, an antique furniture dealer, while speeding on a 20mph road to an emergency callout in Hammersmith, west London, in 2017.
Mr Mills suffered severe brain and chest injuries and died eight months later in March 2018.
His family sued both Sgt Upton and Sir Mark Rowley, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, at London’s High Court for six-figure damages.
Mr Justice Turner ruled that the force must pay compensation for the pedestrian’s death, because Sgt Upton “failed to keep a proper lookout” while driving.
However the judge also found Mr Mills was “careless” because he crossed the road while the red crossing light was showing and that he should have heard the police sirens.
“The culpable lapse of Sgt Upton was of a lower order than the failure of Mr Mills,” the judge said.
The family are expected to receive around £150,000 in compensation with the Met ordered to pay out a further £350,000 in court costs.
The court heard that Sgt Upton was driving 23mph through a green traffic light on a three-lane one way system when he ran down the pensioner, who had stepped out with his walking stick despite the crossing showing a “red man”.
The officer was driving a van from Wandsworth to Hammersmith “in response to an emergency of someone reportedly collapsed behind a closed door”.
Mr Mills’ children, John, James and Jane, had asked for a total of around £460,000 compensation for their father’s death, claiming that the officer was “negligent” in not having spotted him crossing the road in time to stop.
Lawyers for the police officer and the commissioner denied liability, claiming his driving “was appropriate and did not fall below the requisite standard”.
They also disputed the amount of damages claimed and insisted that Mr Mills himself was at least partly to blame for the accident.
Mr Justice Turner, giving judgement, found that Sgt Upton was liable for Mr Mill’s death.
He said: “John Mills was a pedestrian crossing the road ahead of him. When Sgt Upton registered his presence, it was too late and he struck him causing injuries from which he later died.
He added: “It is conceded that Mr Mills was careless. He started crossing nine seconds after the red man was showing. The siren of the approaching police vehicle would have been audible to him.
“He was not as agile as he was in his youth and needed a stick to get around. He knew his ability to take evasive action would be limited.
”(But) Sgt Upton failed to keep a proper lookout in the approach to the junction.
“This was a busy area for pedestrians and Sgt Upton acknowledged that he had experienced pedestrians jaywalking, not only in general, but at this junction in particular.
“What happened on this occasion was an uncharacteristic lapse of attention,” he added, finding Sgt Upton liable for Mr Mills death.
However, he went on to say that Mr Mills was also to blame for crossing the road the way he did.
“The culpable lapse of Sgt Upton was of a lower order than the failure of Mr Mills,” he said.
“However it’s rare for a pedestrian to be found more culpable than a driver for an accident.
“This court has consistently imposed upon motorists a high burden given that the car is a potentially dangerous weapon. I assess contributory negligence at 50 per cent.”
The compensation payout, after the discount for contributory negligence, is likely to total around £150,000, but the final figure has not yet been confirmed.
The judge also ordered the police to make a £350,000 payment on account of the legal costs of Mr Mills’ family and estate.