Police Response to IPCA Report

Police accepts the findings by the Independent Police Conduct Authority which has found that the pursuit of a stolen Subaru in Taita was justified.

The incident on 12 November 2016 resulted in a crash near Petone Bowl.

At approximately 4:03am on the Saturday morning, the driver of a stolen Subaru fled police at speed.

After a short period of time, police lost sight of the vehicle.

The IPCA found that while the pursuit was justified, police policy specifies that when a pursuit ends, the officer should completely stop and that this should be confirmed by the Police Communications Centre.

Overall there were no issues with communication during the pursuit.

At a reduced speed, the officer searched side streets and found the Subaru.
It fled police again and at about 4:08am the Subaru crashed in Petone.

The IPCA found that the use of a police dog to apprehend the driver and a passenger was justified, after they fled the crash scene.

It also found that an appropriate level of care was provided to the back-seat passengers of the crashed vehicle.

“Lessons have been learned as a result of this incident and both the attending officer and the communications centre staff have been retrained on the abandonment of police pursuits,” says Acting District Commander Inspector Chris Bensemann.

“Our officers face challenging situations every day and must make extremely quick decisions while considering the safety of members of the public.”

ENDS

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