(posted 7516 days ago)The Sun
Dami shambles Sarge quits Met
By IAN HEPBURN
Crime ReporterTHE cop slated over her role in the Damilola Taylor trial fiasco has quit the police a broken woman, The Sun can reveal.
Sergeant Caroline Crooks, 36, has returned alone to her native Ulster after her marriage collapsed.
Yesterday, Detective Superintendent Trevor Shepherd, who led the hunt for Damilola’s killers, confirmed: “She has had problems in her private life and gone back to Northern Ireland.
“I am sure her treatment during the trial was a contributory factor. It took its toll on her. I always thought she was a good officer.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman added: “Fellow officers offered to support her application if she wished to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
“But she wanted to make a complete break.”
Sgt Crooks led ten hours of interviews with 14-year-old girl ‘Bromley’ — the disastrous key witness.
But the cop’s tactics were blasted when four boys were cleared of ten-year-old Damilola’s murder at the Old Bailey last April.
The court heard Crooks had told Bromley she was “more guaranteed” to collect a £50,000 reward if she said she saw the stabbing in Peckham, South East London.
One defence barrister branded her “a disgrace to her profession.”
Another said she “cynically” took advantage of the teenager.
The court heard Crooks had no training in quizzing juveniles and did not follow guidelines.
But Crooks, who was based at Kennington, insisted: “I did the best job I could.”