Teenager who killed PC David Phillips guilty of manslaughter

The teenager who killed a police officer during a high-speed pursuit last year has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Clayton Williams, 19, was charged with murder after hitting PC David Phillips at around 50mph in a stolen Mitsubishi L200 truck in Wallasey, Liverpool, in October.

Phillips, 34, died almost instantly from "catastrophic" injuries, leaving behind his wife and two children.

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Jurors at Manchester Crown Court cleared Williams of murder, deciding he did not intend to kill or seriously injure the officer, and instead convicted him of the alternative count of manslaughter.

During the trial, the teenager, who said he had been using cannabis since the age of six, admitted his dangerous driving had caused PC Phillips's death.

The officer had been crouched down, deploying a tyre-puncturing stinger device to end the car chase.

Williams claimed he did not intend to injure anyone and had not seen Phillips until a second before impact as he tried to drive around the stinger spikes.

He was out on licence from jail after crashing into a lamppost in another police pursuit and claimed he only wanted to avoid going back to prison.

There was no reaction from Williams in the dock as the verdict was delivered, while the officer's widow, Jen, wiped tears from her eyes, reports Sky News.

In a victim impact statement, she told the defendant: "I want you to know what you've done to me and my daughters. Tears flow as I cry myself to sleep every night."

The couple's children, Abigail, seven, and Sophie, three, described their father as a loving, caring "super daddy".

PC Phillips: man charged with murder as communtiy mourns

08 October

Clayton Williams from Wallasey has been charged with the murder of PC David Phillips, who died during a police pursuit in Merseyside on Monday.

The 18-year-old has also been charged with attempted wounding of another officer, burglary and aggravated theft of a motor vehicle and is due to appear at Wirral Magistrates Court later today.

PC Phillips was killed in the early hours of Monday morning after being struck by a stolen Mitsubishi pick-up truck. Police said the vehicle mounted the central reservation and then drove off at speed.

A second man, 30-year-old Phillip Stuart, has been charged with aggravated unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and burglary. Four other people, including three women, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, the BBC reports.

Family and friends paid tribute to PC Phillips in an emotional press conference yesterday after his widow, Jen, and their young daughters Abigail and Sophie laid flowers at the side of the road.

His widow left a wedding photograph with a message: "I can't believe you've been taken away from me, you are my everything and have no idea how I am going to carry on with you not by my side."

The family also released a video of their daughters paying tribute to their father. "My daddy is kind and caring because he gives the best kisses and cuddles," said Abigail. "He is my hero. I love you daddy."

Hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil at Fort Perch Rock yesterday evening, where a minute's applause was held and balloons released in PC Phillips' memory.

"Tonight's vigil is an opportunity for the community to pay their respects to David, his family and other police officers who risk their lives daily to protect our communities," organiser Mandy Fellows told the Liverpool Echo.

A book of condolence will be opened at Liverpool Town Hall later today to allow the public to leave messages of sympathy for his family and a memorial fund has been set up in his honour.

PC David Phillips: two women arrested after hit and run

8 October

Two women have been arrested as part of an investigation into the murder of PC David Phillips, who was struck and killed by a stolen pick-up truck.

The two, aged 19 and 34, from Wallasey, were detained last night on suspicion of assisting an offender. Two men, aged 18 and 30, from Oxton and Wallasey, were arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of murder. All four remain in custody.

PC Phillips had been laying a 'stop stick', a device used to stop vehicles during chases by deflating their tyres, as his colleagues pursued the driver of a stolen Mitsubishi L200 Challenger.

Police said the vehicle mounted the kerb, hit PC Phillips and then drove off at speed. He later died from internal injuries.

Around 20 officers have been searching a home in Wallasey, just a few miles from the site of the fatal collision. One man told the Liverpool Echo that they had police dogs and brought out "lots of bags" and possibly computers.

Today, PC Phillips's wife Jennifer Phillips, 28, and their children Abigail, seven, and Sophie, three, laid lilies at the site where he was killed.

The girls described their father as a "super daddy" and their "hero." Other family members, including his parents and sisters also visited the scene.

Nearly £60,000 has been raised for a "Constable Dave Phillips Memorial Fund" set up by Merseyside Police Federation Charitable Trust. The officer's family will decide how the fund will be spent.

PC David Phillips: two men arrested on suspicion of murder

06 October

Merseyside police have arrested two men on suspicion of murdering PC David Phillips, who died after being struck by a stolen pick-up truck during a police pursuit in Wallasey.

The men are aged 18 and 30 and from the Oxton and Wallasey areas of the Wirral. Four search warrants have been issued by officers as part of the investigation.

"I would like to thank the public for their overwhelming support," Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Richardson told The Guardian. "Since the investigation was launched yesterday we have been inundated with calls from members of the public and as a result we are following up a number of positive lines of inquiry."

PC Phillips was killed in the early hours of yesterday morning by a driver in a stolen Mitsubishi pick-up truck during a police pursuit.

According to police, he and a colleague had been laying a 'stop stick', a device used to stop vehicles during chases by deflating their tyres, when the stolen vehicle mounted the kerb, hit him and drove off at speed.

PC Phillips' colleagues carried out CPR before he was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital, but he was pronounced dead a short while later. A post-mortem examination confirmed that he died of internal injuries.

The 34-year-old leaves behind his wife Jen and two daughters Sophie, three, and Abigail, seven (pictured above).

Officers from across the country have offered their condolences following the death, which comes barely a week after National Police Memorial Day, an annual service to honour officers who have died in the line of duty.

PC Phillips was described as "one of the best" by Peter Singleton, chairman of Merseyside Police Federation. Singleton said his colleagues were "understandably devastated" and a memorial fund has been set up.

"There is a steely determination to get on with the job, not only to bring the perpetrators of this terrible crime to justice but also to carry on serving the people of Merseyside to make sure there's no break in the kind of police service that they deserve and expect," he added before the arrests.

Mike Tonge, former deputy chief constable of Merseyside Police, told the BBC that the police service would be "feeling pain" for the officer and his family.

"Sadly the driver of this car has been so reckless that he's taken the life of a police officer," he said. "Undoubtedly a review will take place to look at all the procedures for how this event has come to pass."

Merseyside police and crime commissioner Jane Kennedy said her thoughts and deepest sympathies were with PC Phillips' friends and family, adding: "It's a dark day when you lose one of your own."

At a press conference yesterday, Merseyside's Chief Constable Sir Jon Murphy said PC Phillips "did not stand a chance" as he was hit.