Investigation into actions of officers prior to man’s death – Hampshire Constabulary, January 2022

 On 30 January 2022, a joint Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary marked police unit were responding to reports of a burglary at a property in Monxton when they noticed a van travelling away from the area at an excessive speed. 

The police vehicle illuminated its blue lights to indicate for the van to stop, however the driver of the van failed to stop and made off from police. A pursuit began during which tactical options were considered to bring the pursuit to an end. Approximately five minutes into the pursuit, the van was driven off the side of the road into a field. The driver of the van died at the scene.

We specifically investigated whether the pursuit was justified and proportionate and whether the decision-making and authorisation of the pursuit was in accordance with the law and national and local policy.

During our investigation, we attended the scene of the incident and the following post incident procedures where statements were obtained from the police witnesses. We collected and analysed further evidence including dashcam video footage and data recordings from the police vehicle, radio transmissions, body worn video, and a statement from a member of the public.

Our investigation concluded in January 2023, we waited for all proceedings to conclude before publishing our findings. 

We concluded no person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. 

An inquest was held into the man’s death in October 2023.

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.