Road traffic collision after pursuit – West Yorkshire Police, September 2021

In September 2021, West Yorkshire Police officers pursued a car in the Bradford area which was displaying cloned registration plates. Three police cars were involved at various times during the pursuit. The cloned car turned into an alleyway, where it struck a member of the public who sustained serious injuries. The officers immediately stopped the pursuit and provided first aid to the injured man. The cloned car was later found abandoned.

We obtained accounts from the police officers involved in the pursuit and examined their body worn video camera footage. We also examined the CCTV footage from inside the three police cars which recorded the entirety of the pursuit including the pursued car striking the member of the public. In addition, we examined the audio recording of the pursuit and incident logs. We considered the officers’ actions alongside local and national police policies and legislation and found that they had complied with them as required.

The investigation concluded there was no indication the officers may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence. There was also no indication that the officers’ decisions and actions caused or contributed to the injuries the member of the public sustained. All officers and police staff were treated as witnesses and cooperated with this investigation.

At the conclusion of our investigation in March 2022 we shared our report with West Yorkshire Police who agreed with our findings.

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.

In this case, the investigation has not identified any learning.