A police officer who allegedly gave false evidence in court after a 'road rage' incident on his way to work in Frome broke down in tears during a misconduct hearing yesterday (February 25).

PC Keith James could lose his job if an Avon and Somerset Police panel decides the allegations against him are true and they amount to gross misconduct.

The panel heard the officer was off duty and on his way to work in Frome, out of uniform and in his own car, when the incident occurred two years ago.

It began when PC James pulled out of a side road onto the A367 ahead of another motorist, a Mr Lee, on the afternoon of February 15, 2018.

It continued at a mini-roundabout in Radstock, where Mr Lee said PC James "cut into his lane" and PC James admitted he raised his middle finger towards Mr Lee in a "parting shot" before turning left towards Frome.

Mr Lee, a driving instructor, had been intending to turn right, but said the obscene gesture was the "trigger" for him to make a "split second decision" to "chase" PC James by suddenly turning left from the right hand lane.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Lee overtook PC James in a manoeuvre which the officer claimed was "dangerous" and forced him to brake suddenly to avoid a collision.

PC James said he decided to put himself on duty at that point, and pulled Mr Lee over, identified himself as a police officer, and told him he was going to report him for driving offences.

As the two men shouted at each other, Mr Lee told PC James he had dashcam footage and was going to report him to the police as well.

"You caused road rage," Mr Lee was heard to say during the footage, which was shown at the hearing.

The footage showed: PC James turning onto the A367 about 10 seconds before Mr Lee brakes behind him; Mr Lee flashing his lights behind PC James, beeping at him at the Radstock mini-roundabout, then sharply turning left and overtaking him; and PC James braking suddenly then flashing his lights and holding his warrant card against the front windscreen.

The panel heard evidence from both men accusing each other of bad driving and "intimidating" behaviour.

Opposing barristers gave alternative versions of events, blaming both PC James and Mr Lee for the incident.

The panel heard that, in the days afterwards, PC James failed to tell his supervising officer that he raised his middle finger towards Mr Lee, omitted the information from his police report, and failed to seize the dashcam footage as evidence when he visited Mr Lee to tell him he would be prosecuted.

Mr Lee was later acquitted of a charge of driving without due care and attention by magistrates who saw the dashcam footage in court.

It is alleged PC James told the court Mr Lee had driven dangerously throughout the incident, when he knew that was not true.

It is also alleged the officer reported Mr Lee to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in a way which was "unnecessary" or "vindictive".

PC James said he "deeply" regretted making the obscene gesture towards Mr Lee, but he still maintained that Mr Lee drove dangerously during the incident.

He denied he pulled Mr Lee over to "show him who's boss", saying he did it only to protect road users and pedestrians.

He also denied being "smug" when he gave Mr Lee notice of prosecution, telling the hearing he was "professional" throughout the encounter.

However, he admitted he should have seized the dashcam footage then.

PC James said he did not disclose his obscene gesture as evidence when he reported the incident because he was "embarrassed" and did not think it was "material" to Mr Lee's driving.

However, he accepted during the hearing he should have disclosed it as it was "part of the chain of events".

When pressed by independent panel chair Alex Lock over whether his omission was "deliberate or inadvertent", PC James said: "I didn't deliberately try to hide any evidence.

"It was a mistake. I've never hid any evidence in the past.

"This is just a stupid human error by me."

At that point, the Bath-born 45-year-old broke down in tears, saying he had joined the police 19 years ago to protect the public, and he had tried to do so on the day of the incident.

PC James is accused of breaching the professional standards for honesty and integrity; duties and responsibilities; authority, respect and courtesy; and discreditable conduct.

The hearing continues today (February 26) at the force HQ in Portishead.