I woke on Saturday 20th August to the heartbreaking news that seven people had been killed in a fatal road collision on the A66 in Cleveland. As more details emerged, it became apparent that two police officers were amongst those who had tragically lost their lives.

I deal with tragic loss on a regular basis in my role as CEO of the Road Victims Trust. Rightly or wrongly (from a self-care perspective), I review every single fatal and life-changing road collision which appears in my e-mail inbox as a referral from the Roads Policing Units in Beds, Cambs and Herts. Some would suggest that, for the purpose of self-preservation, there is no requirement for me to be aware of every single collision that has devastating and life-changing consequences in my area. I have a team that manages the referrals and ensures that an appropriate level of practical and emotional support is allocated at the relevant time. I am extremely grateful to them for their professionalism and resilience.

However, whether it is an old habit that is difficult to kick or there are other, more subtle reasons, there is an inherent desire on my part to fully understand the impact of road collisions across the three counties and more widely within the UK.

A few days earlier, I had the fortunate experience of speaking with Clare O’Neill and listening to her talk about the devastating consequences of losing her 9-year-old daughter, Alice, in a road collision in July 2023. I was so full of admiration for Clare and her family’s commitment to campaigning for safer roads and higher standards of driving in the UK. Clare’s account and the tragic loss of Alice was extremely powerful and I thank her for sharing this tragic and unimaginable account with me.

I spent Saturday thinking about the two officers who had lost their lives and the impact that their sudden and unexpected deaths would have on their families, friends, colleagues and the wider police family. As the weekend progressed, I found myself reflecting not only on the tragedy itself, but on something I found increasingly uncomfortable — the limits of my own compassion.

When the Professional Becomes Personal

Further details became available as the investigation progressed and more information was released to the media. The vehicle had been driven along the wrong carriageway of a dual carriageway, against the flow of traffic, resulting in a collision in which the two armed policing officers lost their lives. Driving in the wrong direction created a scenario in which the potential for devastating consequences was inevitable.

The collision had a significant impact on my emotional well-the-limits-of-compassionbeing that weekend. It was a role that I had performed for ten years, and I had been involved in follows/pursuits where individuals had chosen similar courses of action. These were two police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who had gone into work the evening before to perform a role whose primary objective is, and always has been, the protection of life. This moment in time will leave a massive void in the lives of so many across Cleveland and beyond.

A Different Perspective on Compassion

On this occasion, I feel a sense of guilt that my own compassion and empathy do not extend to the five individuals in the vehicle responsible for the collision. I feel a sense of guilt that my compassion and empathy do not extend to the families of those five individuals. As a police officer and, more latterly, a member of police staff working in a child protection arena, I am fully cognisant of the fact that children, young people and then adults are all the product of their lived experience. Individuals such as these are moulded by their parents and the society in which they develop. It can be incredibly difficult to break an established cycle of criminality.

Perhaps that is why I have found this collision so difficult to process. I believe passionately in compassion, empathy and understanding. It’s important to acknowledge and understand that circumstances shape people’s lives, whilst recognising that very few human stories are straightforward. What I have accepted is that compassion does not require us to ignore personal responsibility or the consequences of the choices people make.

What I have found more difficult to accept are the limits of my own compassion on this occasion. I understand that five other families will also be grieving and that they did not make the decisions that led to this tragedy. I know that their loss will be real and painful.

An Uncomfortable Truth

If I am honest, this blog is providing me with an emotional outlet, and knowing the grief that the five families are experiencing has not changed how I feel.

My thoughts and emotions have remained firmly with the two police officers who went to work that evening to protect others and never returned home. Perhaps my own policing background inevitably influences that response. Perhaps the circumstances surrounding their deaths make it particularly difficult for me to look beyond the choices that were made that night.

As uncomfortable as my own emotions leave me feeling, leading the Road Victims Trust has taught me a great deal about compassion. It has also taught me that grief, responsibility, anger and empathy can exist alongside one another. We do not always have to reconcile those emotions perfectly.

It feels good to acknowledge those emotions and to have a forum in which to share them. Thank you for lending an ear.

RIP PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/pc-matthew-blades-and-pc-thomas-clough

Paul Cook
Chief Executive Officer
The Road Victims Trust

https://rvtrust.org.uk/news

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