Rotorua police chase that left teen dead should have been abandoned - IPCA

The police watchdog says officers should have abandoned a police chase in Rotorua that left a 15 year-old driver dead.

An Independent Police Conduct Authority report on the fatal chase police tried to stop the teen driver and his friend for a routine check on 31 October 2024 but the driver fled.

Officers initially decided not to follow the car as the driver made a "dangerous manoeuvre" and there was a risk in following them.

A sergeant in a second car then said over police radio that he believed the car was linked to a sighting of a gun.

This resulted in two police units chasing the car being driven by the teenager.

The chase lasted 90 seconds and covered 3.3 kilometres before the teenage driver lost control and collided with a van.

Three people were injured and the driver died at the scene.

It was later found out that the teenagers in the car were not involved in the firearm sighting.

The IPCA report also said before the chase started police had been told that the sighted firearm was a toy. That information had been broadcasted over the police radio but was not known to the officers involved in the chase.

It said the chase should have been abandoned for several reasons, including confusion on the police radio over why the pursuit was taking place, 'no commentary" provided on the teen's erratic driving and the risks involved with that.

The report also found that other officers and the dispatcher also knew the previously sighted firearm was a toy and yet did not communicate this over the radio while the chase was taking place.

It said one of the reasons the confusion had taken place was due to "incomplete written information in the phone application".

The report said these "failings" of several police staff were "significant factors that contributed to this crash'.

Bay of Plenty District Commander, superintendent Will Loughrin, acknowledged the report findings and said the decisions on that day were made based on the "best available information across a very short timeframe".

"Police have put measures in place to support our people in terms of decision-making during pursuits.

"We have identified learnings from this incident, and we continue work to ensure that any pursuit undertaken is done so appropriately, with the correct information at the forefront of any decision-making processes.

"Police staff work in a fast-paced environment every day and it is critical that in those split-second moments, we are all making the best decisions for everyone involved.

Loughrin said changes have been made to the Responder application that officers can access on their mobile devices, so that real time and up-to-date information was accessible to officers once it becomes available.

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