Met Police officer dismissed after crashing unmarked police car while travelling with his child off duty

A Metropolitan police officer has been dismissed after he crashed an unmarked police car into multiple vehicles while travelling with his child while he was off duty.

DC Andrew Hardy, attached to the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command, drove a police vehicle he was not authorised to drive while off duty 240 times, travelling over 3,800 miles.

DC Hardy drove at “excessive speeds” while using the vehicle between October 2022 and March 2023, a misconduct hearing heard.

A report following the hearing revealed the officer crashed into multiple vehicles causing significant damage, while his child was in the car on March 23 last year.

He also failed to keep a proper record of the journeys in the log book assigned to the police vehicle.

DC Hardy was placed on restricted duties and an investigation was launched.

He resigned from the Metropolitan Police before the misconduct hearing.

The hearing ruled that the officer’s actions had “put members of the public at risk of serious harm” and risked causing “significant reputational harm to the force”.

Commander Stephen Clayman leading the Specialist Crime Command said: "DC Hardy made personal use of a vehicle that was meant for use in the pursuit of policing operations and public safety.

“His actions fall far below the high standard that the public expect from us. He has let down his colleagues and it is completely unacceptable that he damaged the property of others through his reckless actions.

"He has rightly been held to account for his behaviour and dismissed without notice."