Fatal crash came after pursuit abandoned

A woman was killed in a crash nearly 31⁄ hours after police abandoned a pursuit due to the nature of her driving.

Details about the woman’s death come after Stuff revealed police had revised their pursuit policy.

The policy has been looked at in an attempt to ‘‘change a culture that is decades old’’.

Police confirmed they received reports about a motorist driving erratically on State Highway 1, south of Sanson, at 7.35pm on October 25. It was the Sunday night of Labour Weekend.

Officers were dispatched and found the vehicle about 7.55pm.

A pursuit was initiated, but abandoned after five minutes due to the ‘‘level of risk to the driver, the public and our staff’’, a police spokeswoman said.

Inquiries to find and speak to the driver began immediately, she said.

Officers went to the house of the registered owner and tried contacting them by phone.

Officers also continued area searches to find the vehicle, without success.

About 31⁄ hours later, about 11.25pm, emergency services were called to a serious crash involving the driver, a woman in her 40s, at the intersection of Makerua and Williams roads.

A passenger in the second vehicle suffered moderate injuries.

The crash had been reported to the coroner and an investigation into the circumstances was ongoing, the spokeswoman said.

‘‘Fleeing driver events are highly volatile and high-risk, and staff have to make the best

‘‘Fleeing driver events are highly volatile and high-risk, and staff have to make the best decisions they can with the information they have.’’

Police spokeswoman

decisions they can with the information they have, and with public safety the top priority.’’

A member of the woman’s family declined to comment when approached by Stuff.

‘‘Our only concern is what was she doing out at that hour of the night,’’ the family member said.

Stuff earlier revealed officers had been asked to complete an online training module as part of the revised policy.

The module, referred to as a ‘‘compliance course’’, for dealing with fleeing drivers gives officers cards, each listing a different scenario.

Officers are then asked to decide if it would justify a pursuit.

The two options are no and maybe.

Among the scenarios that would not be justified are: wanted for burglary, a driver weaving across lanes, if police believed there was 3kg of methamphetamine in the car (which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment), a suspected stolen vehicle and travelling at high speed.

An active shooter, kidnapping and active and immediate threat is in the ‘‘maybe’’ section.

Police earlier declined to comment on the module.

An internal police email leaked to Stuff advised staff not to pursue fleeing drivers unless the threat posed ‘‘outweighs the risk of harm by the pursuit’’.

The revised policy was emailed on December 10 stating the need to ‘‘change a culture that is decades old’’.

Between 2009 and 2018, 67 people died during police pursuits.

The email said a pursuit would only be justified when the threat posed by those in the vehicle prior to signalling the driver to stop and the need to immediately apprehend the driver and-or passengers ‘‘outweighs the risk of harm by the pursuit’’.

Police Association president Chris Cahill earlier said officers had raised concerns that the policy would lead to more fleeing driver incidents.

‘‘The counter-argument is the dangers and the deaths that result in these do not warrant that risk of pursuing it in the first place.’’

Officers were now held to account for fleeing driver incidents ‘‘to a degree that’s never been before’’, Cahill said.

‘‘Our members are constantly criticised because of the outcomes of pursuits, so if they’re not going to get the public and-or legal support then why should they do them if they’re putting themselves at risk?’’

In a statement, a police spokeswoman said the review found although the police policy was sound, it was not always being used consistently or as it should be.

‘‘This situation proves there is also significant danger to the public in not stopping fleeing drivers at the earliest possible opportunity.’’ Simeon Brown

National’s police spokesman

‘‘It is about reminding them to think about threat, exposure, necessity and response before they even signal a driver to stop,’’ the spokeswoman said.

National’s police spokeman, Simeon Brown, said although the risk police pursuits posed needed to be acknowledged, the new policy would ‘‘embolden criminals who now know that officers can’t give chase’’. ‘‘This situation proves there is also significant danger to the public in not stopping fleeing drivers at the earliest possible opportunity,’’ he said,

‘‘Police need the tools and discretion to make decisions rather than being hamstrung, giving criminals the luxury of knowing that putting their foot to the floor is essentially a Get Out of Jail Free card.’’

A spokeswoman for Police Minister Poto Williams said it would be inappropriate to comment because it was an operational matter.