Louise Theresa Bailey · Prevention of Future Deaths report

On 5 August 2019 an investigation was commenced into the death of Louise Theresa Bailey. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 9 June 2022. The jury’s conclusion of the inquest was:

“Accident. The death of Louise Bailey is both sad and a tragic accident. The jury recognise that the unit responding to the request did not communicate with patrol but this is not a direct contributing factor to her death. The driver acted in accordance to the standard expected of an advanced driver when he entered the contraflow and when the accident occurred.”

Two police officers stopped a suspected shoplifter who then turned and fled. One of the officers chased the suspect on foot and called for assistance. Some units assigned themselves to the call. A unit in a car responded to the incident using exemptions and blue lights and sirens. The police car crossed to the contraflow to avoid traffic and collided with the deceased, who was running across the road to catch a bus. She was not visible to the driver as she entered the road behind a bus.

Chapter 13 of Roadcraft, the Police Driver’s Handbook, provides that before officers begin their response to an emergency call, they should go through a process of risk assessment. That includes consideration of whether other units are closer. However, in this case the driver and operator did not know the answer to that question. In part that was due to the fact that officers are encouraged to avoid assigning themselves over the radio during an ongoing incident to prevent clogging up of airwaves. However, I heard evidence that several units did in fact assign themselves over the radio, though not all with their location, and that no training is provided as to when to assign over the radio and when not to. Moreover, there is an emergency button which allows the originating officer to override other broadcasts if needed mitigating any risk of clogging up airwaves. My concern is that the current system and training does not facilitate drivers being provided with the information they need to answer the question “are other units closer?” which means they are unable to complete a full risk assessment.