An IOPC allegation of Gross Misconduct arising from 90 second unauthorised police pursuit was rejected by Panel following submissions from Mark Aldred of QEB Hollis Whiteman.
An advanced police driver, who was not pursuit trained, was accused of Gross Misconduct by the IOPC for conducting what was alleged to be a 90 second pursuit of a drunk and drugged driver who had consumed over 15 pints, taken cocaine and driven through a red light almost colliding with the police car. The IOPC also alleged that the police driver had made a deliberate contact with the fleeing suspect which resulted in a broken leg.
Mr Aldred successfully argued that the IOPC had misunderstood the finer details of the pursuit policy and that the actions of the officer when faced with the impossible decision between allowing a drunk driver to go unpoliced and conducting a short pursuit should not amount to misconduct of any kind and that the contact was an accident.
Mark Aldred