In a significant development, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider charges against two Sussex Police officers related to the death of Arthur Hölscher-Ermert.
An Unfortunate Turn of Events
On 30th April 2022, 27-year-old Mr Hölscher-Ermert died when he was struck by a Sussex police vehicle in Peacehaven, East Sussex, near the junction of Dorothy Avenue.
The incident took place on the A259. Hölscher-Ermert was hit moments after he had left his Audi, which had been pursued by a different police car.
The Pursuit and the Aftermath
Earlier in the evening, Mr Hölscher-Ermert was driving his Audi, which attracted the attention of a police car that began pursuing it on the A259.
The pursuit ended on Bramber Avenue when Hölscher-Ermert exited the vehicle.
Almost immediately, he was struck by an unmarked Sussex police car around 23:10 BST.
Despite efforts at the scene, Mr Hölscher-Ermert died from his injuries.
Officers Under Investigation
As a result of the fatal incident, two Sussex Police officers find themselves facing potential charges.
The IOPC’s investigation has led to one officer being criminally investigated for causing death by dangerous driving and unlawful act manslaughter.
The second officer is under criminal investigation for allegedly perverting the course of justice.
If you would like to stay up-to-date with this story, then please subscribe to our FREE newsletter:
Before you go...
In a world where mainstream media narratives often eclipse the harsh realities faced by our valiant men and women in the emergency services, we at Emergency Services News have made it our mission to bring these overlooked stories into the spotlight.
Our team is exclusively composed of dedicated volunteers, all veterans of the emergency services. They commit their time and expertise to this cause, not for financial gain, but out of a shared passion to honour their colleagues and dispel the misconceptions that mainstream media perpetuates.
Despite running at a loss, we persist. We believe in the importance of our mission - to elevate the dignity and courage of those who risk their lives for us every single day. But we need your help.
Your donation directly sustains ESN, enabling the continuous delivery of authentic, critical stories often overlooked by mainstream media. We deeply appreciate your support, which enables us to further our mission of delivering important, underreported stories. Thank you for standing with us and thank you for supporting our team of former emergency services & HM Forces personnel.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
That’s very sad. But I wish you wouldn’t put this out for the public. I feel for the officers who obviously never intended to kill the man it’s just unfortunate the whole world are told. I do hope the IOPC can see they didn’t come to work that day with thoughts of killing someone. The guy should have stopped earlier then he’d still be alive. I just hope the IOPC will have that in mind and allow the officers leniency. We are short of police as it is.
Had he stopped when asked, this would never have happened. He was the dangerous driver and to put several officers through the wringer for his wrong doing strikes me as fundamentally unsound.
Because of this fear of injuring law breakers, they proliferate. Look no further than the illegal escooters all over the place causing chaos amongst law abiding, qualified motorists. The cops dare not stop them in case they get hurt while committing offences.
We need a fundamental culture shift. By all means have the IOPC look into the matter to see what lessons might be learned but unless there is clear misconduct by the officers, they should be left alone. This guy defied a legitimate order. He brought in on himself. Too bad. One down, plenty to go.