Man Jailed After Hit-And-Run Kills Merton Police Officer
Offender will serve eight-and-half years
A man has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years after killing Merton police officer Andrew Duncan in a hit-and-run last year.
Gary Bromige, also known as Gary Cody, aged 25, of Holland Road, South Norwood, was sentenced at Kingston Crown court after admitting causing death by dangerous driving, causing death whilst uninsured, causing death whilst unlicensed, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident.
He will now also be disqualified from driving for six years and will face an extended driving test before he can get behind the wheel again.
In the early hours of September 20, PC Duncan - known as 'Andy' - was working on a speed enforcement operation with a colleague, when they noticed a car driving at speed along Reigate Avenue toward Rosehill. He attempted to stop the car - a black VW Golf - by signalling for the driver to pull over.
Bromige's car collided with PC Duncan and he was thrown some 30m and left critically injured. The car drove off towards Rosehill and was found abandoned nearby.
Andy, 47, was taken to hospital following the collision and died in the early hours of September 22. A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as multiple injuries.
Bromige was arrested after handing himself into Wandsworth Police station on September 20 and was later charged with the above offences. An investigation into the incident estimated that Bromige was driving in excess of 80mph.
Andy was married with two children, a son and a daughter.
In an impact statement read to the court, PC Duncan's wife, Claire, said: "Since September our lives have changed completely. We are devastated - I have lost my husband and our children have lost their father. They are struggling with this every day.
"My daughter has said that she is so upset that her dad had so much more to teach her. My son has said that he no longer wants to learn to drive. Not having their dad around will affect them forever. Andrew's parents are without their son and are finding life difficult. His sister has lost her only brother.
"Our future plans as a couple will not take place as we wished. Our plans for our house, travelling and retirement are now things that I will face alone. He was my world - we are truly devastated."
He joined the Metropolitan Police Service in March 1990 and was originally posted to Battersea. Six years later he transferred to the South-West Territorial Support Group (TSG) where he served for almost seven years before moving to Hammersmith and Fulham Borough. In May 2004 PC Duncan transferred into the South-West Traffic Unit.
On ctober 11, a full service funeral was held for PC Andrew Duncan, at St Mary's Church in East Moseley.
The funeral cortege was escorted to the church by police outriders, provided by PC Duncan's colleagues in the Traffic Operational Command Unit. Uniformed MPS officers also provided a guard of honour as the coffin was carried into St Mary's Church.
The MPS was represented at the funeral by the Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and Chief Superintendent Glyn Jones, in charge of the Traffic OCU. Hundreds of PC Duncan's friends and colleagues from the MPS also attended.
Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane said: "On the night of September 20, 2013, Bromige who was not legally permitted to drive, was doing so dangerously, recklessly and his actions led to the tragic death of PC Andy Duncan.
"He callously failed to stop leaving a critically injured officer at the scene. Andy was a wholly dedicated officer who devoted over two decades to keeping others safe and it is always devastating when an officer looses their life in the line of duty.
"Andy's death has had a profound effect on his family, friends and colleagues and Bromige now faces a jail sentence to reflect on the devastation that he has caused."
February 8, 2014
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