Police Ombudsman under fire over crash death statement

One of NI’s former top police officers Alan McQuillan claimed the police ombudsman may have compromised its position by issuing a “premature statement that doesn’t give all the facts”.

The ex-deputy chief constable was speaking after mother-of-two Lisa Gow was knocked down and killed by a stolen car on the Ballysillan Road in north Belfast on Thursday.

Police had initially said the ground pursuit had ended, leaving it to the PSNI helicopter to track the grey Audi A4.

But in a statement on Friday, the Police Ombudsman’s Office said its investigators had established the police pursuit car had been “a matter of seconds behind” the stolen vehicle when it crashed.

At the weekend, Ms Gow’s family paid tribute to a “loving, caring and devoted mother.” Her funeral is tomorrow.

DUP councillor Dale Pankhurst said the family is “angry and frustrated at the contradictory statements” about the crash.

Mr McQuillan told the News Letter it is possible police were “trying to de-escalate the pursuit” while still tracking the vehicle.

While the ombudsman said it had released its statement on Friday in the interests of “public confidence”, because the police account was at odds with the evidence, Mr McQuillan said the precise sequence and timing of events must be firmly established, and that “for the ombudsman to make a statement like that at this stage in my view is extremely premature”.

Meanwhile, by coincidence, another serious crash happened on the Ballysillan Road yesterday, which left a male pedestrian with what police called “life-changing injuries”.

A Police Ombudsman said in a statement on Friday: “The Office is investigating the circumstances which led to what happened.

“A spokesman has said its investigators have established that police had been in pursuit of the stolen car: ‘Video from the police helicopter and from within the lead police pursuit car clearly shows that when the collision occurred, police were a matter of seconds behind the suspect vehicle. Our investigation is continuing and will consider issues such as how police dealt with this incident and the manner of police driving.’

“Police Ombudsman investigators have met members of the deceased’s family and briefed them about its investigation.”

Mr McQuillan indicated that the ombudsman’s investigation – which he said would include interviews with the officers involved, and establishing precisely when any order to call off pursuit was given, and where police were at the time – should be completed in full to definitively establish how the tragedy unfolded.

“How can the police officers now have confidence they are going to get a fair hearing?” he said. “The ombudsman has now potentially compromised his position by making a premature statement that doesn’t give the full facts. The ombudsman should have simply said they are investigating the matter and left it at that.”

Mr McQuillan also said there should be greater legal protection for PSNI officers when it comes to pursuits.

He said: “There is an absolute duty on police officers to protect life, so the view is that pursuits should never be continued if there is any risk to life.

“But the difficulty is what do you do about those individuals who are going to go on and risk lives further down the road? The police then get the blame because they are pursuing them at the time, so it is a very difficult balance to strike.

“You have to take into account a lot of different factors, including how they are driving and where there are at the time.”

A spokesperson for the Police Ombudsman’s Office told the News Letter yesterday: “The press release issued by police on the evening of the collision was at odds with video evidence, and with what witnesses were telling the media. It was important for the bereaved family, and in the interests of public confidence, that the situation be clarified.”

After being told this, Mr McQuillan said he stood by his original position.

The PSNI yesterday said it “would not be appropriate” to comment further during the ombudsman investigation.

In a statement on Friday, police had said that “the full circumstances of the pursuit will be independently investigated by the police ombudsman,” including “whether or not the pursuit had ended at the time of the collision”.

Martin Nelson, 39, with an address at Ardoyne Road in the city, has appeared in court charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

In a statement released on Saturday by Mr Pankhurst, Ms Gow’s family said: “Lisa was a loving, caring and devoted mother to her two children, Olivia aged eight, and Riley aged five, along with her partner, John.

“She was a daughter and a sister who was full of joy, full of energy, and full of love for her family and friends.”

Ms Gow’s family said her life had been “tragically cut short”, “costing our family a daughter, a sister, an auntie, and most of all, a mummy”.

They added: “We are overwhelmed by the response and the caring nature of the community, who in spite of this terrible tragedy, rallied around us, sending messages of support and tributes from right across the community: from Ballysillan to Ardoyne to Highfield and west Belfast.

“We’re also deeply humbled by the financial donations from members of the public in order to help us, and the floral tributes at the site of the tragedy on the Ballysillan Road.”

Ms Gow’s funeral will be held in St Andrew’s Church, Forthriver Road at 1.30pm tomorrow with a service at Roselawn Crematorium at 3.30pm.