Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC - formerly IPCC)
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Cleveland Police pursuit before fatal collision was appropriate

Our investigation found the actions of Cleveland Police officers were in accordance with local and national policies and procedures, but has also recommended that further training be provded for officers.

Brandon Morris, 16, was killed when the car in which he was a passenger collided with another vehicle in Middlesbrough on the 14 March 2017. The driver of the car, Lee Harvey, pleaded guilty of causing death by dangerous driving in April 2017.

Our investigation found that police officers were in pursuit of the car shortly before the collision, having assessed that Mr Harvey was driving dangerously around the Park Vale Road area.

In the opinion of our investigator, both officers, who were treated as witnesses throughout the investigation, acted in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures when making their decision to try and stop the vehicle.

The officers self-authorised their decision to pursue the car, rather than seeking permission from the control room, however the investigator considered this was appropriate in the circumstances, given that just nine seconds elapsed between the decision to pursue and the collision.

The officers provided detailed accounts of the incident, which were corroborated by eye witness accounts, CCTV footage of the incident and dashboard camera footage from the police car.

Although the police response was found to be appropriate, we recommended that further individual training be provided to officers around self-authorisation and the definition of situations which constitute a pursuit, which the force has agreed to.

IOPC Operations Manager Ian Tolan said: “Our thoughts remain with Brandon’s family and friends following this tragic incident - it was clearly very distressing for everyone involved. Evidence found by the investigator confirmed that the police response was appropriate, but we recommended that further individual training for the officers would be beneficial.”

Channel website: https://policeconduct.gov.uk/

Original article link: https://policeconduct.gov.uk/news/cleveland-police-pursuit-fatal-collision-was-appropriate

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