The pursuit was abandoned, but a short time later the motorcycle collided head-on with an oncoming car, the IPCA said. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Police should not have chased a speeding motorcyclist in Whakatāne before it had a fatal crash, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found.
An officer caught the Harley Davidson motorcycle travelling at 115km/h in a 60km/h zone just before 6pm on 16 March this year.
When the bike didn't stop as signalled to, continuing along State Highway 30 towards Awakeri, the officer began a pursuit with lights and sirens, reaching speeds between 140 and 160km/h.
After 5km the pursuit was abandoned - but just a kilometre further along the motorcycle attempted to pass a car on a sweeping bend and collided head-on with an oncoming car.
The police watchdog found the officer was legally justified in signalling for the motorcyclist to stop, but did not properly follow the fleeing driver policy by initiating the pursuit.
The report said the officer should not have pursued the motorcycle, particularly given the risks of travelling at high speeds, and should have abandoned the pursuit earlier.
The authority stopped short of determining the actions caused the motorcyclist's death. "On the available evidence, the authority was unable to conclude that the officer's actions caused the motorcyclist's fatal crash."
As the current fleeing driver policy does not include motorcycles as a consideration before initiating a pursuit, the authority recommended it be changed to highlight the risks of following a motorcycle and said it should only be done in "the most extreme circumstances".
Police accepted the authority's findings.
Bay of Plenty district commander Superintendent Tim Anderson expressed condolences to the family of the man who died, but said the officer made the right call by signalling the motorcycle to stop, and was doing their "very best".
"The officer had signalled the motorcyclist to stop as he considered the excessive speed the motorcyclist was travelling at clearly presented a significant risk to not only the motorcyclist himself, but to all other road users who were driving lawfully," Anderson said.
"The officer was absolutely correct in this regard and did the right thing by attempting to stop the motorcyclist, who was travelling at almost twice the speed limit when initially observed by the officer."
Director of road policing Superintendent Steven Greally said the recommendations on the fleeing driver policy would be considered when it is next revised.