A police pursuit that led to the death of an innocent motorist, in which the fleeing vehicle went through eight red lights, should not have been started, the police watchdog has found.
The fleeing car smashed into another vehicle. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
The Independent Police Conduct Authority found that the police were not justified in carrying out a pursuit, which led to the death of an innocent motorist in Christchurch.
Kenneth McCaul, who was 64, was killed when a Toyota the police were chasing smashed into his car as he was heading to work just before 4am on 22 October last year.
Jayden Breakwell, 18, who was behind the wheel of the fleeing Toyota, has been sentenced to two years and eight months in jail.
The IPCA found that the officers should not have started the pursuit, and said there were multiple occasions when it should have been abandoned.
In its ruling the authority said a police patrol was travelling along Main North Road in Christchurch and saw the Toyota stop at the intersection with Grassmere Street.
The officers were suspicious of the Toyota, so began following it as it accelerated away and used an inside bus lane to pass a van. The driver of the police car signalled the driver to stop by activating lights and siren and when the Toyota failed to stop, began a pursuit.
The pursuit lasted about four and a half minutes over more than 7km, and the fleeing Toyota passed through eight controlled intersections on red lights and at speeds up to 137 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, and 100km/h in a 30km/h zone.
One officer attempted to spike the tyres of the fleeing Toyota relatively early in the pursuit but the spikes malfunctioned.
The chase ended when the fleeing driver drove through a red light at the intersection of Glandovey and Idris Roads and collided with another car, killing Kenneth McCaul, the driver and sole occupant.
The authority found that not only should the officers not have started the pursuit, but that there were multiple occasions when the pursuit should have been abandoned. It also found that the pursuit controller in the Communications Centre did not formulate or communicate an adequate plan to bring the pursuit to an end.
Authority chair Judge Colin Doherty said: "In the circumstances, the risk to the public of police pursuing the Toyota at speed and through multiple red lights was without question greater than the risk of letting it go and making inquiries later to locate the registered owner or driver.
"This risk was ultimately borne out by the tragic death of Mr McCaul, an innocent member of the public on his way to work."
The authority said the pursuit highlighted the need for technology to give pursuit controllers access to accurate and comprehensive "real time" location and speed data, as recommended in a March 2019 review.
Police said they accepted the findings.
"The decision whether or not to pursue a fleeing driver is one of the most complex, difficult and serious decisions police staff face, Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price said.
"In this instance, the decisions made both by the fleeing driver and by police staff had the most tragic consequence."
"The death of Mr McCaul, an innocent member of the public, was an absolute tragedy which devastated his husband, family, friends and colleagues," Price said.
Owen Fraser, the widower of Kenneth McCaul, said he didn't lay any blame with police.
"My thought is they did the right thing, you can't give up on chases and let the person go beserk in the city," he said. "They have to be stopped and it's up to the car driver to stop."
Next week will mark one year since the death of his husband of 40 years.
The Children's Commissioner has also called on police again to end the practice of pursuing young drivers.
"How many more improvements or adjustments to the policy should we make before we say the policy is flawed," he said.
