A drink-driver who injured a police officer by dragging him along the street with her car when he tried to arrest her wept as a judge told her: “You thought you were above the law.” Candace De Silva, 37, a mother of four, avoided immediate custody for leaving PC Simon Ward permanently disabled, after a court heard that two of her children have special needs.
Liverpool Crown Court was told how PC Ward, a former Army medic, pulled her over in Liverpool city centre on 14 September 2024, suspecting she was using her mobile phone behind the wheel of her silver Range Rover Sport. Despite testing over three times the alcohol limit, De Silva, an accounts manager for the Royal College of Physicians, told the officer: “You are not f***ing searching me — I am going. You cannot stop me!”
Bodycam footage showed her accelerating away as the officer clung on, shouting: “Do not try and resist me. Stop the car!”
PC Ward used his Parva spray on De Silva and her passenger but was dragged six car lengths down the road before she finally stopped. He was left with permanent knee injuries meaning he can no longer carry out frontline duties. He said the burden on others is like “living a death sentence”, adding: “She thought she was above the law.”
Convictions and sentence
De Silva, of Anfield, Liverpool, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, drink-driving and using her phone at the wheel.
She avoided immediate custody, instead receiving a 28-month suspended sentence. She was also ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity days and 140 hours of unpaid work, fined £457, banned from driving for three years and told to take an extended retest before driving again. She apologised for her behaviour, claiming she had a “moment of madness” caused by alcohol.
The victim’s account
Watching the sentencing from the public gallery, PC Ward said in a victim impact statement that, after 12 years as an Army medic and a new career in the police, the injury had left him reliant on a metal support brace and crutches to walk.
PC Ward said: “I am a vulnerable shell of a man with no true sense of identity.
“When I left the military I kept a desire to help others and joined the police in 2019 to shape the community where friends, family and friends reside.
“After fighting for my country and its values being a police officer brought me pride. I thought I could make a positive impact — it is now hard to accept that I am a victim of crime.
“I nearly never came home and September 14th was the worst day of my life. I am in constant pain with the knee. It almost feels like I’m living a death sentence. I have fallen down stairs many times.
“I have a metal support brace and I am using crutches to walk. How am I supposed to enjoy life? I had to move house because of my needs and feel a burden on my partner, who is also a police officer.
“I wake up multiple times during the night in pools of sweat. I am just amazed this woman feels the apologies will undo the harm. That day she thought she was above the law.”
The prosecution’s account
Prosecutor Miss Nardeen Nemat said the officer stopped De Silva on Leeds Street in Liverpool as he believed she had been on her mobile phone.
Miss Nemat added: “But PC Ward noted her eyes appeared glazed, her speech slurred and she failed a breath test.
“PC Ward requested a female officer to attend to search the defendant but was told no female police officer was available to assist.
“The defendant then told the officer, ‘See no-one else is coming. You are not f***ing searching me. I am going. You cannot stop me.’
“PC Ward put his hand into the vehicle to remove the key and told the defendant on numerous occasions to stop the car but the vehicle moved forward and the speed increased.
“PC Ward grabbed hold of the steering wheel to stop himself being dragged under the vehicle and his feet lifted off the road.”
The court heard De Silva repeatedly hit at PC Ward, causing lacerations to his fingers and the palm of his hand. She was also seen urging a female passenger to assist with putting the car in gear. The officer used his Parva spray on both De Silva and her passenger and the car came to a halt.
As PC Ward formally arrested her she said: “I just want to go home to my children. I did not touch you. You pepper sprayed me. My eyes are burning.”
She then injured another constable when she deliberately slumped to the floor while being led inside a police van, causing one of her handcuffs to scratch the officer’s forearm. Tests showed De Silva had 72 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35.
Mitigation
Charles Lander, defending, said his client feels “guilt and remorse” and is “not a regular drinker and recognises that she had drunk too much on that day.”
He continued: “She is a mother of four children — three daughters and one son — the middle two have neurodivergent conditions and suffer with special educational needs.
“She is the sole earner and has worked for four years as an accounts manager for the Royal College of Physicians. If she loses her liberty today the children will lose their home.
“Some may rightly think that she should go to prison for this moment of madness but this is a case that the court can impose a suspended sentence.”
The judge’s remarks
Judge Garrett Byrne told her: “Your behaviour was absolutely appalling. This officer was someone who was acting on behalf of all of us to protect us and keep the roads safe from people such as yourself — people prepared to drink and drive.
“You could have killed him. But there is one matter that weighs in favour of suspending a prison sentence — that you have four children two of whom have special needs.
“Although you did not give them sufficient thought that day, I have to.”
About Carl Millar
Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.
Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.
With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.
Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535, or click here to send a confidential message.
