Subj : Police 'breached policy' but not to blame for fatal crash - IPCA
To   : All
From : News
Date : Thu May 02 2024 12:45 pm

Two officers were not responsible for a Wellington crash that killed two men
but likely "inadvertently" influenced the intoxicated driver to speed away
and lose control of the vehicle, the police watchdog has found.


A recent Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report detailed the
March 26 incident and attempted to determine whether officers were
responsible for the crash.


The two "inexperienced" officers, recently graduated from police college,
were at traffic lights on Bunny St in Wellington Central, about to turn left
onto Waterloo Quay.


As the lights turned green, the officers spotted a vehicle racing down
Waterloo Quay "at high speed".


Speaking to IPCA investigators, one of the officers said: "I communicated
with [Officer B] that we would signal the vehicle to stop.


"I was never planning on engaging in the pursuit if it'd failed. If it had
failed to stop, I intended to notify police communications and pull to the
side of the road."


The other officer thought the vehicle was a risk to pedestrians and told his
colleague: "We should get that."


The car's emergency lights and sirens were activated, and the officers drove
after the vehicle.


The occupants of the vehicle had come from a party in Lower Hutt where
"alcohol was plentiful, and some people consumed recreational drugs, such as
cannabis and synthetic cannabis", the report said.


Five people decided to travel into central Wellington to continue socialising.


Nineteen-year-old learner driver CJ-Lee Taingahue took the wheel with four
friends as passengers - despite being intoxicated. It was later found he was
three times over the legal limit, with THC also in his system.


Travelling at speeds up to 180km/h (where the speed limit was 100km/h), he
would eventually run a red light at Waterloo Quay - where police lights
flashed behind him, and he sped away.


One of the vehicle's occupants told police there was loud music playing in
the car - and despite Taingahue's passengers asking him to slow down, he
refused.


One passenger also suggested the driver slow down so they could "do a runner"
on foot.


After swerving between two cars, Taingahue entered a left-hand corner onto
Cable St. Well above the speed limit, the car failed to make the corner and
left the road, smashing into a building.


Taingahue and one of his passengers were killed in the crash, while three
others were injured.


Following its investigation, the IPCA found the two officers were not
responsible but also criticised their choice to use emergency lights.


"However, by activating the emergency lights and siren in their attempt to do
so, it is likely that police inadvertently influenced the intoxicated driver
to continue to drive dangerously.


"We also found that the officers breached police policy, but this was not a
causative factor in the fatal crash.


"The two officers had recently graduated from the Police College and, while
we do not consider this was a feature in the incident, more experienced
officers may have considered how a fleeing driver would react and may have
used the police radio more promptly.


"The authority acknowledges this matter involves the deaths of two young men
and we extend our sympathy to their families."


Police respond to findings
In a statement, police said changes had been made to the way new officers
were trained for pursuits.


"We're pleased that the recommendations have been acted upon, with the amount
of time devoted to recruit driver training at Police College doubled from 4.5
days to nine days, including a practical session specifically focused on safe
resolution of fleeing driver incidents," a spokesperson said.


Police also said it provided support to the people involved and their
families. The officers involved also received support.


"We feel for the two families and friends who lost their loved ones, the
passengers who were injured, and for two officers who were confronted with a
tragedy that never needed to happen," Wellington District Commander
Superintendent Corrie Parnell said.


"Sadly, this crash was a result of a young driver's bad decisions: A decision
to ignore the friend who told him not to drive; a decision to ignore the
passengers who asked him to slow down; and a decision to flee police.


"We are always looking at how we can improve and ensure that a tragic
incident like this does not happen again," said Superintendent Parnell.


"But our message to the public remains the same: If you're under the
influence, please never get behind the wheel."

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A44 2020/02/04 (Windows/64)
 * Origin: S.W.A.T.S BBS Telnet swatsbbs.ddns.net:2323 (63:10/102)

.