The father of an 11-year-old girl who lost a leg after being struck by a police car criticised the £400 fine and three penalty points imposed on the driver as a "joke".
Sadie Stevens was hit on a pelican crossing on the A34 Newtown Road, Birmingham, on February 7 last year. The youngster, from Newtown, had to have her right leg amputated and suffered head and arm injuries.
The driver, Pc James Hibbert, who is now a firearms officer, was fined £400, given three penalty points and ordered to pay £700 in costs by Birmingham magistrates yesterday.
Hibbert (39) admitted driving without due care and attention.
The court heard he was responding to an armed robbery and driving at up to 47mph when Sadie and her nine-year-old sister stepped out into the road. Hibbert had believed the lights on the crossing were green, but later realised they were flashing amber.
Outside court, Sadie's father, Brian, a 54-year-old unemployed steel worker, said: £1,100 for the loss of a leg? I don't think so. He should have been banned from the roads."
Hibbert, who has been an advanced police driver since 1989, had driven his unmarked Volvo into the bus lane of Newtown Road, which has a 30mph limit, to avoid gridlocked traffic.
Witnesses said the girls strolled across the road seemingly unaware of the sirens or blue warning lights.
A police spokeswoman said: "Once the discipline aspects of this case have been resolved, Pc Hibbert will have to take an advanced driving refresher course."
