The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that failures by Police led to a pursuit in Rotorua on 31 October 2024. The pursuit ended in a crash where the 15-year-old fleeing driver died.

At 11.29am that day, the teenager, Mr Z, was driving a black coloured car in the Rotorua central city. His friend, Mr Y, was in the front passenger seat and they were seen by officers in two separate patrol cars (units). The first unit signalled for Mr Z to stop, intending to conduct a traffic-related check. However, Mr Z made a dangerous manoeuvre at a busy intersection then fled from Police. That unit decided to not follow Mr Z given the risks associated with pursuing it.

A sergeant in the second unit then said over the Police radio that he believed those in the black car may be two teenagers reportedly seen with a firearm in the central city about seven minutes earlier. Based on this transmission, both units began pursuing the black car.

The pursuit continued at speed for one-and-a-half minutes, over about 3.3 kilometres. Mr Z then lost control on a corner, and his car struck a van travelling in the opposite direction. All four people involved suffered injuries, the most serious being Mr Z, who died at the scene.

It transpired that Mr Y and Mr Z were not the teenagers involved in the reported firearms incident. Also, before the pursuit began, and unbeknown to the pursuing officers, Police had been told that the firearm was a toy. This had been broadcast over the Police radio.

We conducted an independent investigation, considering several aspects. The full report can be viewed on the Authority’s website. However, our key findings are:

• Officers in the second unit had initially failed to seek a radio update regarding the firearm incident, instead relying on written information in a phone application which was incomplete (it did not say a CCTV camera operator had concluded the firearm was a toy).
• Officers in the second unit wrongly believed the car’s occupants were connected to the firearms incident, also due to the incomplete written information in the phone application.
• The officers were justified in initiating the pursuit based on what they mistakenly believed the circumstances to be. However, the pursuit should have then been abandoned by the dispatcher or pursuing officers as:

• Other officers and the dispatcher knew that the firearm the CCTV operator concluded was a toy, yet none communicated this information over the radio during the pursuit.
• The failings of multiple members of Police were significant factors that contributed to this crash.
• Police did not appropriately investigate or debrief this matter. Had they done so, they would have identified significant failings concerning communication and decision making around the initiation and continuation of the pursuit.

The Authority acknowledges this matter involves the death of a young man and we extend our deepest sympathy to his family.

Public Report