Investigation into police pursuit and subsequent collision with a motorcycle – Cumbria Constabulary, November 2024
A Cumbria Constabulary police officer on patrol in an unmarked police car passed a motorcycle driving at excessive speeds. The rider was wearing a helmet and protective clothing.
The officer turned to follow the motorcycle and asked the communications centre to check the motorcycle’s registration number. It was recorded as off road with no insurance. The officer illuminated their police car’s blue lights and siren and signalled for the motorcycle to stop. The rider did not stop, and a pursuit began.
The force incident manager authorised the pursuit to continue, and another police officer successfully used a tyre deflation device to slow the motorcycle.
A short time later, the pursuing officer used their police car to make tactical contact with the motorcycle, causing the rider to dismount. The rider slid across the road and hit a bollard on the adjacent pavement, resulting in open fractures on both ankles with heavy arterial bleeding.
We received a death or serious injury referral from the force and decided to independently investigate the decisions, actions and risk assessments made by officers before and during the pursuit, whether there was any evidence the police may have caused or contributed to the rider’s injuries, and the nature and extent of contact between the officers and the rider before the injuries were sustained.
We also examined whether the police acted in line with local and national policies, procedures, guidance and training.
Our investigators interviewed the pursuing police officer and obtained statements from the force incident manager and the officer who used the tyre deflation device. We obtained in-car CCTV footage from the pursuing police car, copies of the police radio transmissions of the pursuit, and the vehicle examination and collision investigation reports.
We also obtained training records for the three police officers involved in the management of the pursuit, as well as local and national policies, procedures and training material relevant to the police pursuit of motorcycles.
We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner to justify disciplinary proceedings. All officers were treated as witnesses and co-operated fully with this investigation.
We found that the pursuit and use of the tyre deflation device was in line with relevant policies and procedures, and the officers involved were trained and permitted to perform the duties they did at the time of the incident.
The pursuing officer considered their options and made appropriate risk assessments before making tactical contact with the motorcycle. While it is unfortunate that the rider sustained serious injuries to his legs, the risk of allowing him to continue riding on deflated tyres and potentially causing even more significant injuries to himself or to other road users and pedestrians was too great.
The rider of the motorcycle was found guilty of dangerous driving in September 2025, along with several other offences related to the road traffic incident. He received a prison sentence and was disqualified from driving for five years.
We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.
We did not identify any organisational learning in this case.