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A police officer in Christchurch refused to abandon a police chase after being directed to do so by a superior, after which the car they were pursuing crashed head-on into a civilian vehicle, injuring two innocent people.
The car being pursued by the police headed onto the wrong side of two busy roads in Christchurch. (file photo)
Photo: 123RF
The police investigation found that the driving officer explicitly overridden the pursuit controller’s direction to stop the pursuit, and in response radioed that the fleeing driver should be stopped.
The pursued car then crashed head-on into a third car that was not involved and injured two people in it. One was taken to the hospital.
At approximately 8 p.m. on May 23 last year, police noticed the car, which they correctly thought had been stolen and was involved in a previous crime. Two police cars chased him. The car headed to the wrong side of Brougham Street (one of the main thoroughfares in the city) and the two police cars followed.
As a result, the Independent Police Conduct Authority reported that the pursuit controller ordered the pursuit to be abandoned.
“However, this address was not complied with by the lead patrol driver who overruled that address by radioing that the fleeing driver should be stopped. The pursuing controller did not challenge this response or reaffirm his address to leave, which the search continues, “the summary report read.
“Shortly after the fleeing driver crossed onto the wrong side of Ensor Road, followed by two patrol cars, before crashing into the civilian vehicle.”
According to other media reports at the time, one person was seriously injured and another moderately, but police said in response to RNZ that two people in the civilian vehicle were slightly injured.
“The police investigation found that the actions of the two patrol cars in pursuing the fleeing driver to the wrong side of Brougham Street were dangerous, and the pursuit should have been abandoned when the pursuing controller indicated so. It also found that the officer who challenged that direction did it. I don’t have the authority to do it according to police policy, “says the summary.
In response to RNZ, the police reiterated that the officer should have been detained, but declined to say what action was taken against him.
“Concerns raised in relation to the police actions have been addressed through an employment process,” said a police spokesman.
“The chase should have been abandoned as soon as the driver of the fleeing vehicle first drove to the wrong side of the road, as indicated by the chase controller. However, we want to reiterate the one thing we want everyone to understand Fleeing Incidents drivers: if the police tell you to stop, you should pull over and stop. It is not worth risking your life, that of your passenger or the life of anyone else, “said a police spokesman.
The IPCA said that the police have taken “corrective measures to address the identified deficiencies.” The authority conducted its own independent review of the police investigation and agreed with the findings.
The fleeing driver was convicted of 15 crimes, including reckless driving that caused injury, and was jailed.
