PC Karl Warren has received several commendations for bravery in the line of duty, the panel heard (Picture: SWNS/Facebook)
A police force is facing questions after it allowed an officer to carry a firearm – despite him having been diagnosed with amnesia for more than a decade.
PC Karl Warren first suffered from memory loss while working for Norfolk Constabulary in 2012.
Senior officers allowed him to remain in his role before making him an officer with the roads and armed policing team.
Evidence of his diagnosis emerged at a misconduct hearing this week after he was involved in a hit-and-run crash in 2022.
He was behind the wheel of the marked BMW when he drove into the back of a female motorist at 50mph on the A146 near Beccles, Suffolk.
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.
The officer had suffered from amnesia (Picture: SWNS)
While the panel dismissed the misconduct charge this week, the ruling has heaped pressure on Norfolk Constabulary over why PC Warren was promoted into a frontline armed role and allowed to drive fast-response vehicles despite his diagnosis.
The female motorist involved in the hit and run, who has asked not to be named, said: ‘I do not dispute Warren’s condition but I want to know how he could be allowed to carry on working in a job that carries such responsibility.
‘Since his diagnosis in 2012, this was always going to end up happening. It could have been a lot worse.’
PC Ryan Hargrave was a passenger in the police car when the BMW drove into the back of an Audi A1 at about 50mph.
But PC Warren carried on without stopping and the female driver reported the incident to the police.
The force initially said neither officer would face any action because PC Warren had been suffering from amnesia at the time.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) later reviewed this decision and said the force should pursue misconduct procedures against both officers.
Following a separate hearing in October, PC Hargrave was given a written warning for not challenging PC Warren at the time and not reporting the incident immediately.
Giving evidence this week, PC Hargrave said he asked his colleague after the collision what had happened and PC Warren mumbled: ‘I don’t know’.
Asked if he thought PC Warren had suffered a medical episode, he said the officer appeared ‘bewildered about what had happened’.
There were no further exchanges between them before their shift ended almost half an hour later, PC Hargrave added.
The hearing was told that PC Warren’s original diagnosis followed an incident in 2012 when he was working on a case in Great Yarmouth.
The hit and run happened in March 2022 (Picture: SWNS)
He was taking a statement from a housing officer when – according to a fellow police officer who was present – he became ‘confused’.
After informing superiors, PC Warren was diagnosed as having suffered from Transient Global Amnesia (TGA), a form of temporary memory loss.
Medical opinion at the time was that ‘there need not be any restriction on his activities’.
Dr Pablo Garcia Reitbeck, a consultant neurologist at St George’s Hospital in London, told the panel it had been seen as a one-off episode and that a diagnosis of TGA meant he did not need to surrender his driving licence.
The misconduct hearing was told after the hit-and-run collision in 2022 he suffered two further episodes. A year later, he experienced 13.
His wife reported him experiencing ‘loss of awareness and mild confusion’, once in a supermarket car park and another while parking at his mother-in-law’s.
Dr Reitbeck said the more recent seizures led to a more accurate diagnosis of a rare form of epilepsy that left him ‘completely unaware of his surroundings’ and with no memory.
He was cleared of misconduct this week (Picture: Facebook)
His behaviour during and after the March 2022 crash was consistent with this new diagnosis, he added.
Andrew Waters, counsel for Norfolk Constabulary, argued that PC Warren’s actions had amounted to gross misconduct.
He said following the collision, PC Warren drove more than 18 miles from the scene to a pub, the next place where he could recall driving.
His ability to drive was inconsistent with an epileptic seizure, said Mr Waters.
Dr Reitbeck said he would have been able to drive but may have no memory of it and there was likely to be a period of confusion following an epileptic seizure.
Colin Banham, counsel for PC Warren, said the officer complied with all medical requirements. Following his epileptic diagnosis, he informed his superiors and the DVLA that he was no longer able to drive.
He has since been placed on restricted duties that don’t include active investigations or dealing with the public.
The disciplinary panel dismissed charges of gross misconduct and said that PC Warren should face no further action. He remains employed by Norfolk police.
The female motorist involved in the crash said: ‘I am disappointed that the hearing did not delve a lot deeper into this case. I do feel like we are only getting a small part of the story.
‘The whole process has been poorly handled by the police. I have felt throughout that their first instinct was to look after the two officers involved, not me – the victim.’
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Mr Banham said despite being charged with misconduct PC Warren had effectively lost his career and was still suffering seizures requiring strong medication.
‘The officer has been through hell. He’s been through diagnosis. He’s no longer carrying [firearms] and he’s no longer driving. His life has been hugely affected,’ he said.
The hearing was told he had received several commendations for bravery in the line of duty including helping a man drowning in the River Yare in Great Yarmouth and a woman threatening to take her own life.
The Norfolk Police Federation has been supporting PC Warren.
Chairman Andy Symonds criticised media and the IOPC, which overruled Norfolk police’s initial decision not to launch misconduct proceedings against the officer.
He said: ‘As we heard during the hearing, this officer has gone through hell. Much of it in public and for a number of months.
‘Police officers are accountable for their actions – and we accept what we do comes under intense scrutiny – but there comes a point when scrutiny can frankly start to feel like an anti-police vendetta.
‘Certain sections of the media with the assistance it must be said of the Independent Office for Police Conduct – took it upon themselves to put his actions on trial.
‘There has been no scandal. There was no hiding anything. He has faced up to it all.
‘Karl sadly has a worrying medical condition. And is paying a heavy price for it.’
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