Pregnant woman injured by police officer's misuse of road spikes

Wednesday, 6 March 2019

The IPCA found that a police officer did not comply with policy when deploying road spikes which caused injury to a pregnant woman (file photo).

A pregnant woman was injured after an Auckland police officer wrongly threw road spikes in front of her car and caused a crash.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) on Wednesday said the police officer used road spikes inappropriately during the pursuit of a stolen vehicle heading north on State Highway 1, towards the Johnstone Hill Tunnels in north Auckland on February 28, 2018.

The police officer was concerned the fleeing driver would cause injury or death to motorists at a dangerous stretch of road north of the Johnstones Hill Tunnels.

An officer in an unmarked police car was listening to a police radio and became concerned the chase was heading towards a dangerous section of road between Puhoi and Warkworth, where the road merged to one lane without a median barrier, and sought permission to place road spikes at the northern end of the tunnel.

However, the officer misjudged the speed of oncoming traffic and threw the road spikes into the path of car being driven by a pregnant woman. Her car was in front of the stolen car, which crashed into the back of her car.

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The woman was injured and transported to hospital, while the police chase continued for a short distance until the stolen vehicle had a minor crash and the two occupants were arrested.

The IPCA found that although it was appropriate for road spikes to be used to stop the stolen car, the officer did not undertake a thorough risk assessment and failed to comply with police policy which resulted in injury.

It also found that the police officer had not activated his vehicle's emergency lights, not was he wearing stab resistant body armour or high visibility gear.

'In his haste to deploy road spikes to stop the fleeing driver, the officer did not consider the basic principles of police policy and prioritise the safety of other road users and himself,' authority chair Judge Colin Doherty said.

'As a result, an innocent member of the public suffered injury and trauma.'

Waitematā Superintendent Nalia Hassan said the stolen car failed to stop for police and was seen driving erratically, speeding and running red lights, putting other motorists at risk.

She acknowledged the officer had made errors during the deployment of road spikes and did not comply with police policy.

'Regrettably these [road spikes] were deployed too soon and a Suzuki Swift travelling just ahead of the offending vehicle was also spiked.

'Police have reviewed this matter to evaluate what learnings can be taken from this incident,' she said.

The officer involved has since received further training around the deployment of road spikes.

The pregnant woman was discharged from hospital the following day and had since given birth to a healthy baby. She received an apology from police and was offered victim support.

The IPCA found police were justified in commencing the pursuit and complied with policy during the pursuit, Hassan said.

Issues highlighted in the incident would be addressed in the Fleeing Driver Thematic Review, a joint venture between the IPCA and police.

The review would become available to the public on March 15, he said.