Police officer jailed for causing death of Wolverhampton shopkeeper allowed to keep his job
A police sergeant who caused the death of a popular shopkeeper will be allowed to keep his job after he is freed from jail.
Staffordshire Police officer Jason Bannister, 45, was sentenced to 18 months in prison last month after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving while off-duty on Cannock Road, Wolverhampton.
Bannister was also banned from driving for three years and nine months.
Wednesfield man Balvinder Singh, 59, died after his car was hit head-on by Bannister's car on December 29, 2016.
At a special case hearing on Friday, Chief Constable Gareth Morgan found that Bannister's conduct amounted to gross misconduct and he was issued with a final written warning and retained in service.
Bannister will not be paid during the length of his prison sentence, according to Staffordshire Police.
Chief Constable Morgan said: "The events that led to this hearing are profoundly tragic for all involved, but none so much as the family of Balvinder Singh. The pain and loss felt by his family is evident in the statements submitted to the court and to this hearing. Jason Bannister's remorse and acknowledgement of his guilt is also very clear.
"The purpose of misconduct hearings is not simply to punish. I am satisfied that these exceptional circumstances warrant the application of my discretion provided for in the regulations. Jason Bannister's service record underscores that he has served the public in an exemplary fashion throughout his time in Staffordshire Police and provides significant reassurance that he would do so in future.
"I know that nothing can undo the tragedy that blights the life of the Singh family as a result of this tragedy, but in my view Jason Bannister should not be prevented from rebuilding and rehabilitating his life having served his custodial sentence. Therefore, after much deliberation and reflection, I have made the decision to retain Jason Bannister in service in these specific and unprecedented circumstances."
Mr Singh featured in the Express & Star in December 2016 after he fended off a robber who was armed with a hammer.
The grandfather was behind the counter of his Nordley Stores off licence, on the corner of Nordley Road and Frederick Road, in Wednesfield, when a man dressed in a hooded sweatshirt burst in demanding cash.
