Collision involving pursued car - Metropolitan Police Service, November 2017

At approximately 11am on 6 November 2017, in north London, Metropolitan Police Service officers in a marked police car became aware of a black Ford KA as it left a car park and drove away from them, exceeding the speed limit and overtaking other vehicles. They followed it and activated the police car’s blue lights and sirens. The Ford KA failed to stop when requested. A pursuit followed, lasting for approximately five minutes, until the Ford KA entered a road marked ‘no entry’, at which point the police terminated the pursuit. The police driver pulled his car over, but as he did so, the Ford KA was seen to crash into parked vehicles further up the road. The police officers drove to the scene of the collision and assisted the two occupants from the wreckage. Both were given first aid and taken to hospital, where it was established that they had serious but not life-changing injuries.

Our investigators gathered evidence and statements from one of the injured men, the police officers and staff involved in the pursuit, and police collision investigators. We analysed vehicle-mounted camera footage, CCTV footage, body-worn camera footage and audio recordings of the police radio communications and compared them to legislation and police policies and national guidance.

The evidence available suggested that the collision occurred as a result of the driver of the pursued car evading the police car, and that the pursuit was conducted in line with national and local policies. We found no indication that any police officer may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence.