The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into a complaint an officer drove their patrol car into a man riding an e-scooter and detained him unnecessarily. As a result of the collision, the man on the e-scooter had an injury to his palm and a serious injury to his left forearm, which required surgery.
Late one night, an officer saw a man riding the e-scooter and, believing him to be a suspect who had attempted to steal a car in the area, activated their lights to stop him. The man rode away.
A second officer saw the man start to turn the e-scooter into an upcoming street. The officer said he activated his lights and siren and turned into the same street with the intention of blocking the e-scooter’s path. The officer considered there was enough time for the man to stop. However, the man did not stop in time and collided with the stationary patrol car. After confirming the man was not the person they were looking for, they released him.
The Police investigation found the officers responded appropriately to the man’s injuries, offering to call an ambulance (which was declined) and contacting his partner on his behalf. Neither the officers involved nor the man were initially aware of the serious injury to man’s forearm. The man said he only became aware of this injury later at hospital.
Due to the time elapsed between the collision and the man making the complaint, there was no CCTV footage available to assess exactly what happened. There were no other officers or witnesses present at the time of the collision. Police found the collision likely occurred at a very low speed as neither the patrol car nor e-scooter were damaged. Police concluded they had insufficient evidence to prove the officer drove carelessly as the officer believed the lights and siren made his vehicle clearly visible.
However, Police found the officer showed poor judgment when deciding to block the path of the e-scooter, and that the matter was not reported internally as required Police policy. These breaches in policy and were addressed through an employment process.
The Authority is satisfied with the Police investigation and agrees with the conclusions reached.
IPCA: 25-26223