WIREDGOV

The IPCC has yesterday published its findings of a managed investigation into the actions of West Midlands Police officers prior to the death of Kevin Burris.

In the early hours of 26 March 2010, a stabbing incident occurred in Smethwick. The injured party, Karl Burris sustained stab wounds and was taken to the City Hospital. Shortly afterwards a fatal road traffic collision occurred on the Dudley Road in Smethwick, not far from the hospital. The vehicle had previously been seen travelling at speed by two police officers who then began to accelerate in an attempt to catch up with the vehicle.

The Ford Focus subsequently collided out of sight into a CCTV pole, killing the driver Kevin Burris aged 29, and injuring four of the passengers. Kevin was the brother of Karl and was on his way with friends to the hospital to visit him.

In addition to the West Midlands Police referring the incident to the IPCC, two of the vehicle occupants made complaints around the actions of police officers alleging a police pursuit caused the accident.

The subsequent managed investigation looked at the full circumstances that led up to the fatal collision, the actions of the police officers in the unmarked police vehicle, whether they complied with local and national pursuit management policies and the risk assessment and decisions made by both the officers involved and control room staff.

While there is a possibility the occupants of the vehicle were aware of the presence of the police car, the investigation found the officers had not had time to direct the driver of the Focus to stop and there was a time gap of twenty seconds between the collision and the unmarked police car arriving at the collision site.

The investigation&n bsp;found no wrongdoing on the part of the officers involved.

At a coroner’s inquest on 1 May 2014, a jury reached a finding of accidental death.

The investigation&n bsp;did recommend some lessons for the force, however. The pursuit policy of West Midlands Police conflicted with that of the national ACPO guidelines.

In addition, the in-car recording system was not switched on at the time of the collision. This could have provided vital evidence which would have assisted the investigation. An upgrading programme of in-car recording devices and ensuring officers are adequately trained is also recommended. All of these recommendations have now been addressed.

IPCC Deputy Chair Sarah Green said:

“My thoughts are with Kevin’s family and friends. His death was a tragedy and cut short a young life.

Our investigation&n bsp;found no evidence of wrongdoing by the officers, however it did identify learning recommendations for the force, which they have accepted.”