Police 'too busy' to help terrified carers after road rage ordeal
An internal investigation has been launched after police allegedly told a petrified group of carers they were 'too busy' to help them during a suspected road rage incident.
Members of the Dudley Carers Forum were travelling back from a Birmingham theatre when they say the group's minivan was in a collision with a car in the city centre.
They allege the car's driver started acting aggressively towards them, but when they called 999 they were told officers could not help them as it was Saturday night and they were too busy.
In their quest for help the group, which included a disabled man, drove to Halesowen police station only to find that it had closed down.
The group then drove on to Brierley Hill police station where they were said to be kept waiting outside for more than half an hour following a 'nightmare' 10-mile journey during which carers say they were pursued by the driver.
West Midlands Police has launched an investigation into the claims, while the region's police and crime commissioner said he had opened his own inquiry and was taking the matter 'extremely seriously'.
The incident on January 23 has brought into sharp focus the issue of police accessibility in the wake of dozens of front desk closures over the last 12 months.
Halesowen and Rowley Regis MP James Morris, who campaigned in vain to keep the Laurel Lane station open, said: "It was obvious from the very beginning incidents like this would happen following the closure of front desks. We warned the PCC at the time, but he did not listen. Instead he decided to announce the station would close.
"It is vitally important for the police to have a presence in Halesowen which is accessible to the public."
Meanwhile Councillor Bill Etheridge, who represents Dudley for UKIP, has called for the region's PCC to resign over what he describes as 'a scandal'. "We know there have been deep and damaging cuts to the police budget," he added.
"But that budget is handled by the PCC, who has brought in a disgraceful station closure programme that has led us to the point where a group of vulnerable people on an outing cannot feel safe.
"It is time for Mr Jamieson to go and be replaced by someone who understands the first priority of policing should be public safety and not number crunching from behind a desk."
Mr Jamieson met with members of the Dudley Carers Forum last Friday.
He said: "The concerns they have raised about the conduct of officers are being investigated thoroughly."
No-one from West Midlands Police was available for comment.
