ok i think it's time we introduced a few facts into this discussion instead of some of the drivel i have been reading from some members
1) police drivers ARE required to use lights and/or siren when engaged in PURSUITS unless "there are special circumstances ".A pursuit is deemed to have started when the target vehicle has "taken off and refused to stop" .Police driver training states that use of lights and sirens is NOT recommended until the police car is in close proximity for tactical reasons i.e in case the target vehicle speeds off ,or verification of the vehicle is needed but is left to the driver to assess the situation
In this case there was NOT a pursuit
2) pc Dougal was responding to a ANPR ping for a passing vehicle that was reported stolen by a previous owner and not updated on the police database .Pc Dougal had been briefed on a stolen car in the scotswood/denton burn area that was being used in robberies at the start of his shift
with this information in mind is it surprising that he did not want to alert the driver of his presence until he could confirm if this was the car he had been briefed about which he could not do until he had caught up with it?
3)Pc Dougal could not inform his command of his intentions because all the communication channels available to Northumbria police were busy ,this has also been confirmed by the second officer involved in the incident and a reccomendation made by the ipcc to look into the matter
4)It has been stated that Hayley was drunk. I said this at the start of the thread (other people have inferred it) but was slapped down as there not being any evidence, well there was ,she was twice the limit .The reason i mention this is to clarify how she came to be crossing the road .Reading the statement of pc Dougal it is quite clear that she saw the police car approach and decided to run across the road in front of the car instead of returning to the path ,this is also backed up with the video .The same group of children Hayleywas with were "honked at" by the renault megan as it passed them because they were too close to the road
5)The first words spoken by pc Dougal after the incident were, according to witnesses, "I'm not denying it, it was my fault" .According to his own statement and that of other witnesses he has never denied it was his fault .Some members have suggested he tried to lie his way out of it ,I would suggest that you stop reading emotive articles from the tabloids or a one sided view from the family they are obviously biased .Some of the witnesses (children Hayley was out with at the time) suggested the two police cars were "playing racies" up the street ,this was based on the fact that the street was quiet and there were no other cars ,these are the sort of people the press interviewed .It has been confirmed by the ipcc using all the data including the gps tracker on both police cars that they were NOT "playing racies"up the street
All of this information has been taken from the ipcc's own findings in there final report on the incident which can be read in full here and i suggest a few do
http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/adamson_redacted_19june-2.pdf
It must be mentioned that in my opinion the rules of conduct regarding police chases allowes too much for the driver to assess ,i do believe that some decision has to be made by the driver but it does tend to put all the onus on the driver and not with the force in general when things go wrong ,i feel that the rules for chasing other cars is far to open to interpretation ..usually when the driver is under pressure and is required to make split second decisions
It must also be pointed out that the Police federation has been campaigning and is on record as saying that all cars fitted with APNR systems should be dual manned
This post is in no way intended to support any guilt or innocence ,that has already been decided,and i have made my views well known in this thread , it is purely to correct some common misconceptions about the case and to provide some insight into the thinking behind pc Dougals' actions