TWO police officers who were escorting Wellington teenager Tamzin Hall to custody before she escaped and was killed on the M5 have been served with misconduct notices for ‘a potential breach of their duties and responsibilities’.

Tamzin, aged 17, had been arrested at about 10.40 pm after a ‘disturbance’ at an address in Taunton and was being driven on the motorway in a police car to a custody suite in Bridgwater on November 11.

She was handcuffed to her front and placed in a back seat of a marked police Toyota Corolla with an officer sat alongside her. But shortly before 11pm the officers stopped the car on the motorway hard shoulder between Taunton and Bridgwater.

Tamzin managed to escape from the car and fled across the northbound carriageways before being hit and killed by a car on the southbound side.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been investigating the actions of police involved before Tamzin’s death.

An IOPC spokesperson said on Thursday (November 28) the investigation was continuing but the police car driver had indicated they pulled over ‘for safety reasons’.

The spokesperson said witness accounts, CCTV, and body worn camera footage had been obtained by investigators.

They said: “We have served both officers with misconduct notices for a potential breach of their duties and responsibilities.

“Such notices advise officers their conduct is subject to investigation.

“The serving of notices does not necessarily mean that any disciplinary proceedings will follow, and this will be kept under review throughout the course of our investigation.”

IOPC regional director David Ford said: “Our investigation is in the early stages and we are working hard to establish the exact circumstances of what took place, from the time of Tamzin’s arrest, to how events unfolded a short time later on the M5.

“We began our investigation earlier this month after being notified by the force.

“We are looking at the contact the two Avon and Somerset Police officers had with Tamzin prior to her death, including their actions, decision-making, and risk assessments of the situation and whether these followed relevant training and policies.”

Tamzin’s mother, Amy, has paid tribute to her ‘beautiful daughter’, her eldest, who she described as her ‘best friend’ and her death has left her family devastated.

She said: “Tamzin was the kindest, caring, loving, loyal girl ever. She was the most honest person I’ve ever known; she was very special to me.

“She had a great sense of humour, and we had many laughs together.

“She was my shadow from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she went to sleep at night. She was such an intelligent young girl and had such interesting perceptions on things in life.”

“Tamzin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so she was unique and saw the world in such a different way.

“She was always so thoughtful and would put others before herself. She loved the simple things in life, talking and her family. Plus, she absolutely loved chocolate – she was chocolate mad.”