Police acknowledge the IPCA's findings in relation to the actions of three Christchurch officers during an incident that resulted in a car being hit by a train.
At 3.55am on 17 October 2023, a Police officer (Officer A) saw two stolen vehicles travelling in convoy in the Upper Riccarton area.
Upon seeing Officer A, the drivers of the stolen cars turned off their headlights and accelerated away at speed. Officer A did not pursue, instead they turned around and accelerated to follow while not activating lights and sirens.
Officer A stopped following when the two vehicles mounted the pavement and drove around bollards to enter another street.
The Authority agreed with Officer A's decision that a pursuit was not justified. However, found the officer's tactical approach of following the vehicles at speed without lights and sirens was unsafe and unjustified.
A second unit (Officer B) saw the two vehicles and followed them at a distance, initially at road speed without lights and sirens, with the aim of providing radio updates to allow other units to respond.
Officer B made the decision to pass through an intersection on Wharenui Road against red traffic lights and activated emergency lights to warn any other traffic.
The Authority agreed that Officer B's approach of driving with lights was reasonable, until reaching the Wharenui Road intersection. They found Officer B's actions after that, in accelerating over the speed limit, were unjustified due to the officer not engaging in a pursuit as it is defined in policy.
During the incident, another officer (Officer D) set up tyre deflation devices, however, was unsuccessful due to the two drivers evading the road spikes.
The Authority found Officer D was justified in deploying road spikes, as they had the belief the drivers were fleeing to escape arrest for their offending. However, the Authority found the location of deployment did not offer solid protective cover for the officer, rendering the deployment dangerous and contrary to policy.
Police acknowledge these findings.
Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill says Police have a duty of care to ensure everyone in our community is safe, no matter the situation.
"Staff have undergone additional training regarding travelling at any speed above the speed limit, and even when not in a pursuit, it should be treated with the same risk management."
"Police engage in urgent duty driving daily, and we continue to take learnings from every instance."
"We would also like to acknowledge the train driver who received spinal injuries as a result of colliding with the stolen car."
