Independent Police Complaints Commission
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No concerns identified following investigation into Gloucestershire Constabulary police pursuit prior to the death of Kevin Whitchurch
Following an investigation into the actions of officers from Gloucestershire Constabulary prior to a fatal road traffic collision in April last year, no concerns have been identified with the actions of officers involved in the incident.
Kevin Whitchurch, 26 from London, suffered fatal injuries after he collided with a barrier while entering Strensham Services on the M5 northbound carriageway at around 12.05am on 24 April 2016. At the time he was being pursued by two Gloucestershire police vehicles following concerns about his driving. An inquest found Mr Whitchurch died as a result of head injuries received during the collision.
IPCC investigators looked at the nature of police contact with Mr Whitchurch prior to his death, including whether or not they followed the appropriate policies and procedures relating to police pursuits.
Evidence collected as part of the investigation included statements from members of the public and the officers involved, as well as CCTV footage and Airwave transmissions. The evidence showed that the pursuit was correctly authorised, and the officers involved conducted the pursuit in accordance with national guidance. The investigation concluded the officers were justified in attempting to stop Mr Whitchurch’s vehicle due to the dangerous way it was being driven and the risk his driving posed to himself and other road users.
IPCC Associate Commissioner Guido Liguori said:
“Our thorough investigation confirmed that police vehicles did not make any contact with Mr Whitchurch’s vehicle, and the officers did not cause him to lose control of his vehicle.
“The investigation has not identified any learning or potential policy changes which Gloucestershire Constabulary ought to consider, but we have made a recommendation to the force after discovering that data collected by the police vehicle’s Incident Data Recorder was overwritten by newer data prior to the device being downloaded.”
The loss of this data did not impact on the IPCC investigation as in car CCTV captured vehicle speeds leading up to the incident. However, so that full information can be retained we have recommended that Gloucestershire Constabulary consider switching to alternative equipment that might hold more information, and/or consider training extra staff who could be called upon to attend scenes and recover data sooner.
