WIREDGOV

We have published our conclusions from an investigation in which a man died following a West Yorkshire Police pursuit.

Antony Rogivska, aged 29 from Bradford, crashed the Seat Ibiza car he was driving into a house at the junction of Cooper Lane and Carr House Road, Shelf, on 14 December 2016. A passing bus then collided with the car and he died a short time later.

Our investigation, completed in November 2017, looked into why a pursuit took place and what alternative options were available. We awaited the conclusion of the inquest before announcing our findings. On 1 July 2019, the jury recorded that Mr Rogivska died as a result of a road traffic accident.

A West Yorkshire Police traffic sergeant was on duty, in a single-crewed unmarked police car, when he decided to follow the car Antony Rogivska was driving. Mr Rogivska stopped and entered a property on Mandale Grove, while the officer waited nearby. Mr Rogivska then returned to the car and the officer continued to follow him before switching on his emergency lights. He failed to stop for the traffic officer, and drove off at speed over a grass verge onto Cooper Lane. Mr Rogivska continued driving at speed prior to crashing into the house. The officer requested emergency assistance and other officers arrived minutes later who provided first aid at the scene,

The entire five-minute incident was captured on the police car’s dashboard camera, showing 39 seconds passed between the activation of the emergency lights and the crash. Our investigation also analysed footage from cameras on board the bus which collided with the car Mr Rogivska was driving, and the police radio transmissions.

The traffic officer – an advanced driver qualified in tactical pursuit – provided three statements to us, one of which was taken on the evening of the incident, and was interviewed as a witness to the investigation. He said he initially decided to follow Mr Rogivska’s car because of the manner of Mr Rogivska’s driving. The traffic officer also accounted for the decisions he made during the pursuit.

We took witness statements from three police constables who had heard the radio transmissions and arrived at scene minutes after the collision. Two non-police witnesses also provided statements.

We found that the officer was authorised to pursue and drove in accordance with his training. We also found that his decision to stop Mr Rogivska was in line with force policies and procedures. However, we concluded that the officer may have missed an opportunity to stop Mr Rogivska on Mandale Grove, prior to engaging in a pursuit.

IOPC Regional Director Miranda Biddle said: “Firstly, I would like to reiterate our sympathies to Mr Rogivska’s family for their loss. We also recognise that this was a traumatic incident for the officers involved. We analysed a large amount of evidence; the dashboard and bus camera footage proved vital to establish an additional account of what happened. Although we concluded that an opportunity to avoid a pursuit may have been missed, it is not possible to say what Mr Rogivska’s reaction would have been had he been stopped earlier. As such, we did not find that the officer’s actions were in breach of professional standards, and that he had conducted the pursuit in line with his training and force policies.”