Derbyshire Police respond after kids with special needs left 'shaking' following traffic stop incident

Mark Jackson was driving through Matlock with his daughter, 23, and his son, 15, on Saturday, August 12, when he was stopped by an officer from Derbyshire Police, following reports of erratic driving.

He said: “We originally didn’t know he was after us, so I was trying to get out of his way because I saw a police van going down and I first thought that the car was following the van.

"I popped my window down and asked what was happening and the officer shouted ‘It’s you, it’s you I am after!’

"We were at a mini roundabout so I offered to move off, because it ended up causing a massive backlog. But the officer said ‘No, I will deal with you here, right now’

"My daughter who has special needs got out of the car and asked the officer what is happening. He told her ‘If you don’t get off the road I’m going to arrest you’. My son, who has autism was terrified by it all and started physically shaking.

"I explained to the officer that my daughter has special needs, my son has autism and I have Huntington’s disease. I told him I was following a white car before which has been slowing down in front of me and doing 30 miles per hour at a national speed limit road, so I beeped at him several times. He pulled off at some point and I think he probably reported me. “

Mr Jackson was then breath-tested and gave an alcohol reading of zero.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire police said: “The force received a report of a car that was driving in a manner that suggested the driver may have been intoxicated. A single officer located the car and stopped the vehicle. Prior to this the officer did not know what the situation was, who was in the vehicle or the what the state of the driver was.

“On opening the door to the car he told the driver to exit the vehicle and sit in the back of the police car. A passenger from the stopped vehicle stood in the road, and attempted to speak to the officer but was told that she needed to remove herself from the situation or could face arrest. She complied and the officer moved the police car to allow other cars to move more freely on the junction.

“Once stationary the officer explained the reason for the man being stopped, listened to the explanation as to why he may have been driving in a particular manner and then, due to the information that he may be drunk, breathalysed the driver. A zero reading was returned and, after ensuring that he was appropriately licenced and insured to drive, he was allowed on his way.

“In situations such as this the primary concern of an officer is that a potentially dangerous driver is stopped as quickly as possible – and while the stop did cause a blockage of the road, from start to finish the traffic stop lasted just 8 minutes.

“The force is committed to treating all those within our community with care and compassion, however, our primary purpose is preservation of life. On an all too frequent basis our officers deliver the devastating news that someone’s loved one has died due to the actions of a drunk driver. When we receive information that someone may be drunk behind the wheel, we must act quickly to ensure the safety of the public – as we did in this case.

“We continually look to improve the service that we provide to our communities, and with that in mind we will be making contact with the individual involved to discuss this with him personally.”