Police officers who followed a stolen van for more than 30 miles before it was involved in a fatal head on collision, have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Police Ombudsman.
The 17-year-old driver of the van died after colliding with an agricultural vehicle on the Glenshesk Road near Ballycastle on 30 September 2003.
The van had been followed by a number of different police vehicles after being spotted by a patrol at Townhill Road near Ballymoney. That patrol followed the van for two miles before losing sight of the vehicle.
The van was next spotted close to Cullybackey by two police patrols travelling in the other direction. Officers told Police Ombudsman investigators that they turned around and followed the van at a speed of about 60mph, maintaining a distance of around 300 to 400 metres but closing to within 100 metres and operating their sirens to alert residents in built-up areas.
Officers, when told there was to be "no hot pursuit", responded "we're backing off."
Police radio transmissions analysed by Police Ombudsman investigators confirmed that the police control room issued orders that there was to be "no hot pursuit." The police drivers are heard to acknowledge and respond: "We are backing off."
Officers stated that the van was being driven very dangerously as it entered the Glenshesk Road, which they described as narrow, winding and crested. The van disappeared from sight as it rounded a corner. When the police rounded the corner themselves, they saw that the van had been in collision with a large agricultural hydraulic ram being driven in the opposite direction.
The van driver was still conscious and officers provided first aid and assisted ambulance crew in removing him from the vehicle. He was taken to Coleraine Hospital, but died just over two and a half hours later.
The Police Ombudsman's investigation established that the drivers of the two cars which were following the van at the time of the collision were both qualified advanced police drivers. A third police driver, who arrived at the scene after being deployed to intercept the vehicle with a stinger device (used to puncture tyres) was qualified in line with standard police driving requirements.
A post mortem revealed that the deceased had not been under the influence of drink or drugs at the time of the collision. Investigators also established that he had not been using his mobile phone.
A number of civilian witnesses were interviewed. One person, who had been driving along the Glenshesk Road immediately before the collision, recalled that the van had passed him at speed, missing his vehicle by inches. He said the first police car was about 400 metres behind the van.
Witness said van seemed to come around corner on two wheels.
The driver of the agricultural vehicle involved in the collision said he had seen the van for only a second before it collided with his vehicle. He said it seemed to have come around the corner on two wheels.
Another witness who was passed by the van near Cloughmills stated that it had veered onto the wrong side of the road while rounding a bend. He said police were about 40 metres behind it at that stage.
The Police Ombudsman Mrs Nuala O'Loan noted that her investigators had received full co-operation from the police during their investigation.
She concluded that there was no evidence that PSNI officers had committed any criminal or disciplinary offences.
Lack of supervision and direction from the police control rooms.
She did, however, express concern about the length of time police had followed the stolen van prior to its collision with the agricultural vehicle. She said: "There is a noticeable lack of supervision and direction from the control rooms in respect of instructions, options, strategy and general management of the incident.
"Despite efforts to co-ordinate a strategy for the deployment of a stinger, no significant direction was forthcoming until shortly before the collision."
She also concluded that while police officers had acted in accordance with the interim Police Pursuits Policy in place at that time, that policy was "inadequate with regard to the direction and supervision of police 'follows' and control room responsibility for such events."
As a result, Mrs O'Loan recommended that the pursuit policy developed by PSNI Urban Region should be considered, updated and circulated to the whole PSNI, pending the introduction of the Policy on Pursuits formulated by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
She also recommended that police control rooms should supervise situations in which vehicles are being followed by police patrols, as well as those in which police are actively in pursuit of suspect vehicles.