Report confirms fleeing drivers to blame
The IPCA report released today into the tragic deaths of Norman Fitt and Deidre Jordan, killed by fleeing driver Phillip Bannan, highlights that it is the fleeing driver alone who is responsible for such deaths, Police Association President Greg O’Connor said.
“There is often a tendency after fleeing drivers kill innocent people to examine Police actions in minute detail, and criticise officers for minor breaches of policy such as imperfect communications. This case just highlights that even when Police do absolutely everything right, the tragic outcome is determined not by Police, but rather by the actions of the fleeing driver,” Mr O’Connor said.
“Having been signalled to stop for speeding at 89 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, Phillip Bannan made the deliberate and selfish decision that he would rather place innocent members of the public at risk by trying to evade Police, than to face up to the consequences of his offending.
“At those speeds, he already posed a risk to the public and Police had no option but to signal him to pull over and speak to him. As it turned out he was also extremely drunk and therefore posed an extreme risk to innocent road users.
“Even though he needed to be stopped, the officers following him were sufficiently alarmed at the offender’s driving, they had already made the decision to pull out. However, the entire episode lasted only 30 seconds and there was no opportunity to find out whether their pulling out would have averted the ultimate outcome of Bannan’s choices. We will also never know whether this offender may have killed someone, given his state of intoxication and history of repeat drunk-driving, even had he never encountered Police that day.
“What we do know is that offenders now believe that if they drive recklessly enough, Police will be forced to pull out; and ultimately it is the actions of those offenders, and not of Police who are trying to keep our roads safe, which are responsible for tragic deaths such as those of Mr Fitt and Ms Jordan,” Mr O’Connor said.
