Police acknowledge the IPCA¡¯s findings into a fleeing driver incident in Christchurch last year, where a passenger died after the vehicle crashed.
Shortly after 2am on 17 September 2023, officers stopped a vehicle in Christchurch and discovered the driver was breaching his licence conditions and the vehicle was not roadworthy.
The vehicle was issued a pink sticker, ordering it off the road, and the driver was instructed to drive it directly to a specific address.
The vehicle was instead located a short time later at a meet of antisocial road users.
Police signalled for the vehicle to stop and, when it didn¡¯t, initiated a pursuit, however the vehicle was lost sight of.
The vehicle was located crashed into a tree in Rangiora a short time later. A back-seat passenger was found deceased.
The IPCA has ruled that while certain aspects of Police¡¯s pursuit policy were not followed, the officers¡¯ actions were not responsible for the crash.
Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill says Police staff make quick decisions in high-pressure, dynamic situations every day.
¡°Our staff have been reminded of our policies around fleeing vehicles and pursuits.
¡°While some elements of our procedure were not followed in this case, the overall decision-making was sound, and we are pleased the IPCA has agreed with us that our staff did not cause this crash.
¡°We implore people who are being signalled to stop ¨C please just stop. It¡¯s not worth risking the lives of yourselves or others, and you are putting everyone in harm¡¯s way when you choose to flee.¡±
ENDS?
Issued by the Police Media Centre