Police contact prior to road traffic collision - Greater Manchester Police, December 2022

In December 2022, the driver of a police vehicle was double crewed and on routine patrol when they informed the control room that a vehicle, a Vauxhall Vivaro van was failing to stop. The police driver who was initial pursuit trained, provided the control room with updates as to their location, the van’s speed, and general road conditions.

As authority was sought from the control room to continue the pursuit, the van collided with a Volkswagen Polo. The front seat passenger of the Volkswagen Polo received minor injuries. The driver was extracted out of the car by the fire service before being conveyed to hospital with a fractured arm and pelvis.

The driver of the Vauxhall van was detained after running away from the vehicle. He was subsequently arrested for failing a roadside breath and drug test.

Our investigators attended the scene of the collision and attended the post incident process in the early hours of the morning. Investigators obtained and reviewed CCTV, body worn video footage and radio transmissions. A report from the collision investigator who downloaded relevant data was also reviewed together with national policies and procedures.

Throughout the investigation we considered whether there was any indication of misconduct for any of the officers and police staff involved. We did not identify any such indication and all the officers and police staff involved remained as witnesses throughout our investigation. Full accounts were obtained from police officers involved. 

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.