Contact with police before fatal collision - Northumbria Police, February 2017
At 11.13pm on 18 February 2017, an officer from Northumbria Police stopped a car in Gateshead, due to concerns about the way it was being driven.
The driver of the vehicle spoke with the officer, in their police car, for approximately eight minutes. During this period, the driver completed a breath alcohol test, which returned a negative result.
The officer allowed the driver to return to their vehicle and, as they began to drive away, the vehicle rolled backward, resulting in a minor collision with the parked police car. After another assessment by the officer, the driver was arrested for driving while unfit through drink or drugs. The officer took the driver to Forth Banks Police station in Newcastle, where, at 12.04am on 19 February 2017, their detention was authorised. The custody nurse deemed that, due to their condition, the driver was not fit for release from custody for at least six hours.
At 12.43pm on 19 February 2017, the driver was deemed fit for release from custody, after the custody sergeant completed a risk assessment. Police officers from Northumbria Police took the driver back to their car.
At 1.54pm the same day, members of the public informed Cumbria Constabulary of a head-on collision in the Brampton area of Carlisle, which involved the same vehicle stopped by Northumbria Police the day before. The report included information that the vehicle was driving erratically prior to colliding with another vehicle. Paramedics were called, but found that the driver had died in the accident.
During the investigation, investigators reviewed the available CCTV footage from the car of the officer who initially stopped the driver. Investigators reviewed CCTV footage of the driver arriving at, and leaving, the custody suite in Newcastle. Investigators obtained witness statements from police officers who had dealt with the driver during their detention and release.
In respect of the officer who initially spoke with and released the driver from the police vehicle, the investigator formed the opinion that there was sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable tribunal, properly directed, could find misconduct in respect of the officer’s decision to initially release the driver and in their collection of evidence for the offence of driving while unfit.
After reviewing our report, Northumbria Police agreed with our findings and held a misconduct meeting for the officer. At the meeting, the independent chair of the panel found misconduct was not proven. No further action was taken against the officer.
Our investigation was completed in December 2017, but we waited until the inquest into the death of the driver had taken place (in summer 2018) before publishing the outcomes of our investigation.