Police boss repeats denial of Ely ‘chase’ before crash that left two teenage boys dead
A police boss has repeated his denial that officers were involved in a “chase” with two teenage boys before they died in a crash that sparked a riot in Cardiff this week.
Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans, aged 16 and 15, suffered fatal injuries following a collision while riding an electric bike together at around 6pm on Monday evening.
In the hours that followed, a large group of youths became involved in what South Wales Police described as “serious disorder” at the scene of the crash, including setting cars alight and throwing objects at officers. Fifteen people suffered minor injuries.
On Tuesday morning, Alun Michael, Labour’s Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales Police, said the riot had been prompted by “false rumours” that police had been chasing the boys before the crash.
Last night, CCTV footage emerged which appeared to show a police van following Kyrees and Harvey just a few minutes before the incident.
In a statement, South Wales Police said the footage would be examined “as part of the investigation which will assist us in piecing together the circumstances leading up to the collision”.
However, speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning, Mr Michael added: “I was assured there wasn’t a police chase at the time the accident happened.”
The College of Policing has a strict definition of what constitutes a police “pursuit” and guidance about how they must be handled.
Police pursuits remain controversial following a number of high-profile deaths, including 18-year-old Henry Hicks who died in a moped crash in 2014.
A panel later cleared four Met Police officers of gross misconduct, ruling they were not technically in pursuit at the time.
Current police guidance states: “Pursuit activity and use of pursuit tactics are likely to place members of the public and police officers under a significant degree of risk.
“Wherever possible, trying to prevent a pursuit from taking place must be a primary consideration.”
The Cardiff crash has been referred to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will decide whether to carry out an investigation.
Chief Superintendent Martyn Stone told a press conference on Tuesday: “We can confirm the following investigations have been carried out so far and when the collision occurred, there were no police vehicles on Snowden Road.
“At this stage we do not believe any other vehicles were involved.”
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We have been contacted this afternoon by South Wales Police to make a referral regarding the circumstances leading up to the fatal collision in Ely.
“We will be sending investigators to a police post-incident procedure to begin gathering information and to assess whether the IOPC will carry out an independent investigation.”
The Welsh Liberal Democrats urged South Wales Police to publish their timeline of events, with Cardiff councillor Rodney Berman warning that there are “serious questions” over the police version of events.
A relative of one of the boys said she was “absolutely horrified” by reports that violent scenes in the aftermath of the crash prevented their bodies from being removed from the scene at the earliest opportunity.
She told i: “I wasn’t aware that the bodies were still there until the mother shared the posts, which was around about one o’clock in the morning, so those boys have been there practically all day, which is absolutely disgusting.”
Downing Street said the scenes in Cardiff were “appalling and completely unacceptable”.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “The reports of disorder, violence, arson and specifically attacks on police officers are appalling and unacceptable.
“We remain grateful to the emergency services and first responders for all their support to the community and restoring order.”
