A
police chief has called for restraint amid rising tensions over the death of
British teenager Harry Dunn.
It comes with the news that the suspect who claimed diplomatic immunity after being involved in his death will be interviewed under caution by British police in the US.
Anne Sacoolas was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road when she hit 19-year-old Harry’s motorbike outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on 27 August.
After being told she had diplomatic immunity from prosecution, Sacoolas left the
UK on a US air force plane on 15 September without giving an account to police.
On Tuesday the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police confirmed that Sacoolas will be interviewed in the US under caution by his officers once their visas have been granted. The news was greeted by family spokesman Radd Seiger as “further compounding the family’s misery.”
Speaking at a press conference, Nick Adderley, chief constable of Northamptonshire Police called on Seiger to “exercise constraint”.
He said: “I urge the family spokesman to exercise constraint in his commentary as the case moves forward.
“I understand the emotion and I understand the anxiety,
“I also understand the will and the want for answers to questions the family are asking.
“This investigation has not stalled, it has not slowed down.
“The suspect not being in the county clearly frustrates the investigation but it does not stop it.”
Adderley added: “Lawyers have clearly stated that the suspect wants to be personally interviewed by officers from Northamptonshire Police in order for them to see her and the devastation this has caused her and her family.
“She did not want to provide a pre-prepared statement which is her right to do so. We do understand from colleagues in the US that the family is utterly devastated.”
He continued: “I have offered to go and see the family on two occasions now and on both occasions that has not been able to happen.
“The reason for that not taking place is because the information being asked for by the spokesman – who is not their lawyer, by the way – I legally cannot provide.”
When asked if Sacoolas would have been charged by now had she been British he said it was unlikely as on average it takes 16 weeks for a fatal collision file to be put together.
“It is likely that she would have been interviewed by now and the full file may be being talked through with the Crown Prosecution Service but we would not be any further forward,” he said
Dunn’s family have also said they welcome the news but wished the officers travelling to the US “good luck finding her.” Dunn’s parents – Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn – travelled to the US last week in an attempt to put pressure on authorities to return Sacoolas to the UK.
The visit included talks at the
White House with
Donald Trump, when the family was told that Sacoolas was in a nearby room and prepared to meet them. However, they refused, insisting such an encounter take place in Britain.
Adderley refused to reveal how the Dunn family had learned the suspect had left the UK, but said it had not been a leak from Northamptonshire Police or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
“It was unfortunate but it was legitimate”, he said.
Sacoolas has released a statement saying she is “devastated by the tragic accident.”
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