Greater Manchester Police officer under investigation following road traffic collision in Rochdale

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is criminally investigating a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer due to their involvement in a road traffic collision with a pedestrian in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on 19 November.

We can confirm that the pedestrian, 38, sustained serious injuries in the collision, which occurred on Rochdale Road at approximately 3.30am. Officers provided medical assistance to the man and was taken to hospital by paramedics.

The officer, who is a police constable, has been advised that they are under criminal investigation for the potential offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving or causing serious injury by careless driving, or careless driving, or dangerous driving. They are also being investigated for potential gross misconduct.

Our independent investigation began following a mandatory referral from the force on the day of the incident. Investigators attended the scene and the post incident procedures, and we secured CCTV footage and police radio transmissions, which have been reviewed.

We have established that the officer driving a marked police vehicle attempted to stop a suspected drunk driver on Drake Street. A short pursuit commenced lasting approximately a minute when the police vehicle collided with a pedestrian on the footpath of Rochdale Road.

IOPC Regional Director Catherine Bates said: “My sympathies remain with the man, who sustained serious injuries, and all those affected by the incident last month. We have met with the man’s family to explain our role and we will keep them updated as our investigation progresses.

“While our investigation is in its early stages, we have found an indication that a criminal offence may have been committed.

“We will continue to investigate the actions and decision-making of the officer during the pursuit and at the end of our investigation, we will then decide whether to refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision and decide whether the officer should face disciplinary proceedings.”

As part of our investigation, we have reviewed the initial accounts by the police driver and police operator in the car, we have reviewed body worn video footage of officers who arrived after the collision, and we have reviewed the police incident and scene log. We have attended the manual examination of the police car by collision investigators.  We will also obtain a further witness account from the police operator involved in the incident, and the officer driving the vehicle will be interviewed under criminal caution in due course.