Police acknowledge and accept the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) in relation to a collision where a man was fatally injured. 

A 111 emergency call was made to Police, by the mother of a man who had hit a person as he was travelling to her house, near Benneydale around 3am on 24 January 2023. 

The person was found deceased by Police the following morning. At the time of the 111 call, it was uncertain whether the man had hit a person or an animal, and after being coded as a priority 2 event, two night shift sergeants decided to delay attendance until morning when it was light. 

A Police review of our response to the emergency call found the matter should have been coded as a Priority 1 event, and Police should have been dispatched to attend at the time of the call. 

The report notes a pathologist’s advice was that the man would have died instantly, and any medical intervention would not have prevented his death. 

“We recognise that while responding at the time sadly may not have changed the outcome, it was a shortcoming in our response," says Superintendent Bruce Bird, Waikato District Commander. 

“Our condolences remain with the man's family." The officers involved have been spoken to, and the broader lessons learned have been built into current processes.

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