Collision after pursuit - West Yorkshire Police, April 2018

In the early hours of 1 April 2018, two West Yorkshire Police (WYP) officers were on patrol in a marked police vehicle in the outskirts of Halifax when a member of the public alerted them to a car that had been driving in the area at a speed of over 100mph. One officer could hear the sound of a high-revving engine nearby and they set off to locate the car. The officers found the car close by, stationary in the road. As police drove up behind the car, it drove away at speed. The police pursued the car as it went through a red light, but lost sight of it temporarily as it pulled away from them around a corner. As the officers followed around the corner, they found the car had crashed into another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction. The police pursuit of the vehicle lasted less than 30 seconds. An occupant in the other vehicle sustained serious injuries.

West Yorkshire Police referred this matter to us on 1 April 2018.

Our investigators obtained and reviewed footage from the police vehicle’s dashboard camera, radio transmissions, an account from the WYP officer who was driving the police vehicle, as well as incident and occurrence logs. These were compared with local and national pursuit policy and guidance.

We were of the opinion that the officer’s actions were in line with the applicable policy and procedure.

We found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.