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Police not to blame for biker's death
Neal Keeling

September 14, 2009

POLICE have been cleared of blame after a motorcyclist died during a 100mph police chase.

But a watchdog has recommended that, as a result, all police vehicles in Cheshire be fitted with video recording equipment.

Lamppost

Frank Drury, 27, of Winsford, Cheshire, was killed when his motorbike hit a lamppost.

His pillion passenger suffered serious injuries. A Cheshire Police vehicle had been trying to stop Mr Drury at the time of the accident in July last year. An investigation was carried out by the force's professional standards department, managed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

This investigation concluded in January 2009 and found there was no evidence the two Cheshire Constabulary officers had caused, or contributed to, the collision.

The investigation concluded the officers never got close enough to the motorcycle to communicate to Mr Drury or his passenger that they wanted the motorcycle to stop. An inquest was held into Mr Drury's death last week and has concluded with a verdict of misadventure.

Spotted

The IPCC's managed investigation determined the motorcycle being driven by Mr Drury was spotted by a Cheshire Constabulary car at the junction of Burrows Hill and Beach Road, Northwich, at approximately 3:07am that morning.

The two officers were suspicious about the actions of the motorcycle and decided it should be stopped. As the police vehicle was turning around, the motorcycle reportedly headed off at high speed towards Weaverham on the B5153.

The police vehicle travelled at speeds of up to 100mph in an attempt to get into a position to try to stop the motorcycle.

Evidence suggests the police vehicle was still some way behind the motorcycle when it went out of control and collided with a lamp post. Independent eye witnesses reported the police vehicle arriving on the scene several seconds after the collision. Mr Drury did not have a suitable driving license to drive the motorcycle and was not insured.

The investigation found that if the police vehicle had been fitted with video recording equipment it would have assisted evidence gathering and quickly helped allay any concerns of Mr Drury's family that the police vehicle was in some way responsible for the collision.

Recommendation

As a result, a recommendation was made to Cheshire Constabulary that all response vehicles should be fitted with such equipment. The force has already started trials. Ms Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner for the north west, said: "The officers in this incident acted appropriately in deciding to try to stop the motorcycle. They had suspicions which needed to be investigated and subsequently proved well founded.

"We will never know whether Mr Drury knew the police car was trying to catch up with him and whether this influenced his driving. His pillion passenger advised the investigation that he was unaware of the police car.

"However it is clear the evidence points towards the police vehicle being a considerable distance behind despite driving at high speed. The officers cannot be held in any way accountable for the collision. This was as a result of the motorcycle being driven at high speed and the driver losing control