Statement to be attributed to Canterbury District Commander, Superintendent John Price:
Police acknowledge the findings by the Independent Police Conduct Authority that the actions of Police in relation to an incident in which a pedestrian was killed by a fleeing van driver in New Brighton were appropriate and in keeping with their duties.
On the afternoon of 7 August 2019 Police officers undertaking a patrol in Avondale identified a wanted person in a car and signalled for the driver to stop.
The driver failed to stop and police followed the car with lights and siren activated. The fleeing driver subsequently abandoned the car in New Brighton after running over a road sign and coming to a stop.
One of the occupants of the fleeing car fled on foot before unlawfully taking a van parked up a driveway, reversing at speed and then colliding with a Police vehicle.
The Police vehicle which was struck followed the van for a matter of seconds before the fleeing van collided with pedestrian, Dean Amies. The van continued along Shaw Road at speed. The Police officers stopped to assist Mr Amies who died at the scene.
Police officers in a third Police vehicle, not knowing Mr Amies had been struck, were also nearly hit by the van and attempted to catch up to the vehicle before abandoning their efforts due to the dangerous manner the van was being driven.
The van was found abandoned later that day. The van driver was located and arrested nine days later. He was convicted of manslaughter and is serving a term of imprisonment.
It is important we take this opportunity to once again acknowledge the tragic loss of life of Mr Amies and the difficult time his family and friends have experienced in the year since his death.
This was a frightening and totally unpredictable situation created and heightened by the erratic behaviour of the driver of the stolen vehicle.
Our Police staff were confronted with a fast-moving and dynamic situation where they had to make split second decisions in demanding circumstances to ensure the safety of all people using the roads.
Both the intent and subsequent actions of our Police staff on that day were to prevent harm on the road. The responsibility and culpability ultimately sits with the driver of the fleeing vehicle who chose to use the vehicle in such a manner that it became a weapon.
This fatal crash is a sad reminder to us all that dangerous behaviour on our roads can lead to the death or injury of innocent people.
The one thing we want, and repeatedly ask, is that everybody must understand if they’re signalled to stop by Police, they should pull over and stop. It is inexcusable to put anyone else’s life at risk.
