IOPC reinvestigation following fatal collision in Birmingham

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has decided to reinvestigate the actions of West Midlands Police before a road traffic collision in Birmingham in which Muhammad Qasim died.  

The collision happened in the early hours of 2 October last year (2023) when a BMW driven by Mr Qasim left the carriageway in Island Road and hit a tree on the central reservation. Shortly before, the BMW had come to the attention of police in Handsworth.

Our investigation, following a mandatory referral from West Midlands Police, concluded in May that there was no indication that any officer may have breached the standards of professional behaviour or that they had a case to answer for misconduct.

Following representations made by Mr Qasim’s family, we have assessed whether we need to reinvestigate the matter. The police driver was not trained or authorised to carry out a pursuit and, after examining the evidence, we concluded our original investigation had not fully analysed the relevant police guidance around the definition of a police pursuit or considered whether it constituted a spontaneous pursuit. The reinvestigation will explore this, considering new information in a witness account which became available after our investigation had concluded. We will also examine the manner in which the police car was driven. 

IOPC Regional Director Derrick Campbell said: “A matter can only be reinvestigated by the IOPC if there are compelling reasons. In this case, after careful assessment we assessed a reinvestigation is warranted and is necessary in the public interest. The coroner and those closely impacted by our decision, including Mr Qasim’s family and the officers involved, have been notified.” 

Under the relevant legislation, compelling reasons for reinvestigation are that the original investigation may be materially flawed in a manner which had an impact on subsequent decisions on outcomes, and/or there is significant new information’ that requires further investigation. There must be a real possibility that the new information, had it been available, would have led wholly or partly to different decisions on the outcomes of our investigation.