Lisa Gow: PSNI disagrees with crash disciplinary recommendation

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has disagreed with a recommendation that two officers involved in a fatal car chase should be disciplined for misconduct offences.

It follows a Police Ombudsman’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Lisa Gow, 32.

The mother-of-two was knocked down and killed on the Ballysillan Road in Belfast by the driver of a stolen car.

The car was being pursued by two unmarked police vehicles.

The ombudsman has made several recommendations regarding the handling of car chases.

Forensic evidence, including video footage from the police cars and a police helicopter, indicated the lead police car was closely behind the stolen Audi at the time of the accident in April 2018.

The pursuit commander had previously assessed the pursuit to pose a “medium to high risk.”

He issued a radio transmission stating that the pursuing police cars would “pull back”.

Although the lead police car did so momentarily, its speed increased and the gap between it and the Audi closed immediately before Ms Gow was struck.

An independent expert on the management of police pursuits told the ombudsman’s investigation that he considered that both pursuing police cars had been driven in compliance with police training and driving standards.

A stinger device designed to safely deflate tyres was used by police in the minutes prior to the fatal collision.

Spikes consistent with those from the device were found in a punctured tyre from the Audi.

A senior forensic scientist stated that he did not consider that the deflation had played any significant part in causing the collision.

The Public Prosecution Service directed that neither of the police drivers should face criminal charges.

The ombudsman, Marie Anderson, subsequently recommended that they should face disciplinary action.

But the PSNI disagreed and instead gave the officers “advice designed to improve their future performance.”

The driver of the stolen Audi, Martin Alexander Nelson, was given an 11-year jail sentence in 2019 for causing death by dangerous driving.

The ombudsman made a number of recommendations to police to improve the management of vehicle pursuits.

These included that the PSNI should conduct enquiries to establish why a video “downlink” between the police helicopter and the police control room had not worked during the pursuit.

Mrs Anderson further recommended that police should conduct joint training between its air support and vehicle pursuit units, after her investigation found there to have been a lack of detail in the information being relayed by the helicopter crew to other police officers.

“It is important that there is learning for individual officers following the traumatic circumstances of this police pursuit,” she said.

“My thoughts are with Lisa’s family, who lost her in a tragic accident.

“I thank them for their engagement with my investigators and for their patience in awaiting the outcome of this lengthy and complex investigation.”

In a statement, Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said: “Our thoughts are first and foremost with the family and loved ones of Ms Gow but also with all of those who were affected by this tragic and traumatic incident.

“The Police Ombudsman’s recommendations were considered against the Police Conduct Regulations.

“The officers concerned subsequently received management advice.”

Mr Singleton also apologised for the fact that an initial police press release had been inaccurate in stating that the pursuit had ended before Ms Gow was struck, acknowledging this had caused further distress to her family.

The chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Liam Kelly, said the death of Lisa Gow was a “tragedy”.

However, he added that it was “abysmal” that it had taken the Office of the Police Ombudsman “more than four years to publish its report”.

“In all that time, this entire incident has taken a heavy toll on the officers involved,” he added.

“No account appears to have been taken of the personal distress and trauma that was involved.

“The ombudsman has a job to do, but a little bit of understanding towards officers involved in dynamic incidents would go some way towards renewing confidence in the system which, right now, fails to deliver expeditious outcomes for individual officers.”