A WEST Midlands Police officer has been jailed for lying about his part in a road rage incident – and convincing an Acocks Green friend to provide a false alibi.
Zaid Malik was off-duty when he became embroiled in a row with another driver in Stechford in February 2015.
Witnesses accused the former Coventry-based PC of being the aggressor – but police chose not to press charges when another seemingly independent account from a Roger Baker backed Malik’s claim he was the innocent party.
However, investigators became suspicious after revealing inconsistencies in their statements – and discovered the two men were actually friends and that Baker was not even at the scene of the road rage dispute.
At Birmingham Crown Court the 51-year-old Malik was jailed for 21 months for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice while Baker, aged 50 and from Westfield Road, was handed a 12-month jail term for the same offence.
Both men had been found guilty on February 3 following a trial.
Chief Inspector Brian Carmichael, from the Professional Standards Department, said: “PC Malik convinced a friend to provide a false alibi that muddied the waters of the road rage investigation.
“Investigators were presented with conflicting accounts from what appeared to be independent sources over who was the aggressor and who was responsible.
“However, our officers uncovered the truth – and both men are now paying with jail sentences.
“We demand the highest standards from all our officers.
“The public should expect to be treated fairly and respectfully. We will take action against anyone deemed to have fallen short of those standards.”
PC Malik continued to work for West Midlands Police in a role outside the evidential chain up to his court appearance.
A special case hearing will now be held with Chief Constable Dave Thompson to determine PC Malik’s future.
