IPCC findings into the actions of West Midlands police officers prior to the death of Kevin Burris
17 Jun 2014 03:27 PM
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.”