Volunteer cop who put sirens on his own car is sacked
Former Metropolitan Special Constable admitted arranging for car to be modified to resemble an emergency vehicle
Friday, 9th January — By Tom Foot
A VOLUNTEER police officer has been sacked without notice after he fitted his own car with blue lights and sirens and drove it around Westminster.
Former Metropolitan Special Constable Jacob Milanov was pulled over by police last July, leading to a search of his Peugeot that revealed hand-held radios, a police memo pad, beacon, blue gloves, evidence bags, and gaffer tape.
MSC Milanov did not attend but admitted to a misconduct hearing he had arranged for the car to be modified to resemble an emergency vehicle.
The panel said the officer had no authority to drive with blue lights.
He had been found to have driven the car with sirens eight times, in streets ranging from Wilton Place, Piccadilly, Chelsea Bridge Road, Chamberlayne Road and Parliament Square.
The Metropolitan Police Service standards board concluded MSC Milanov had breached a series of regulations and was guilty of “discreditable conduct”.
Commander Andy Brittain, who chaired the proceedings, said: “I find that MSC Milanov arranged for his vehicle to be fitted with lights so as to resemble an emergency vehicle. In addition, when stopped by officers, as well as other items he was in possession of an altered police uniform; the alteration was that the letters ‘SC’ had been removed from the shoulders. When asked, he also admitted using the lights on occasions on ‘side roads’. He was not authorised to be in possession of this property. He had no credentials or authority to drive with blue lights.”
Commander Brittain said MSC Milanov had not expressed “insight” into the potential damage done by his actions, adding the police misconduct panel was “not designed to punish police officers – it is about the reputation and standing of the profession as a whole”.
Handing down his judgment, he said: “My decision is that the gravity of MSC Milanov’s behaviour means that I do not consider that any sanction less than dismissal without notice is justified. Therefore the sanction is dismissed without notice and to be placed on the College of Policing’s public barred list.”
