Essex officers filmed joking about the death of Paul Hardcastle's son were handed policing's lowest form of censure

One constable laughed while disclosing that Paul Jr, 35, had filed a complaint against her over her handling of a road rage case — apparently questioning whether the timing was appropriate. A colleague responded that she could 'consider that closed', then added 'every cloud'. The three PCs arrived at the scene near Ongar after his motorcycle struck a van during a police chase on 12 January. Their only sanction was reflective practice, which Hardcastle describes as a 'box-ticking exercise'.

Hardcastle: 'How do they treat members of the public who are alive if that's how they treat the dead?'

The IOPC watchdog uncovered the body-worn footage in June during its investigation into the death.

Essex Police has apologised to the singer, whose anti-war song '19' topped the charts in 1985.