Police are reviewing whether to pursue charges against two
drivers for using blue lights while working for the Hatzola Jewish ambulance
service, after a similar case failed two weeks ago.
Bury district Judge Paul Richardson cleared two Hatzola
members from Manchester of using blue lights and sirens illegally and rejected
claims by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) that the emergency service was not
using its vehicles as ambulances.
Now GMP are consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service
over whether to go ahead with a case against two more Hatzola volunteers who
are due to appear in court next month both charged with the same offence, and a
separate charge of careless driving.
Judge Richardson’s verdict does not set a legal precedent,
but will make it more difficult for police to win its case against Joseph
Sandler and Simon Hanson, who were charged after attending a medical emergency
in Salford in March.
Manchester Hatzola director Myer Heilpern said: “We are only
hoping in light of recent developments that GMP accept that our vehicles are
being used for ambulance purposes, and police will take a commonsense view of
the law as it stands.”
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