Lewis Johnson: Coroner warns Met over teen killed in police chase
A teenage moped rider's death while being pursued by a Met Police officer showed the force had failed to train its staff "effectively", a coroner has warned.Lewis Johnson, 18, died after hitting a traffic light pole while carrying a pillion passenger in Clapton Common, east London, in February 2016 as the pair tried to evade arrest for suspected phone thefts.An officer chased the moped for more than three minutes before the crash and followed him "too closely at times", which put him under extra pressure and affected his decision making, an inquest jury found.Senior coroner Mary Hassell said it showed the Met had failed "to implement, disseminate and train relevant staff... effectively".
The inquest heard the driver of the police vehicle did not have the qualification required under the force's rules at the time to pursue motorbikes.However, the chase still took place because of "a lack of knowledge" among the driver, vehicle operator and Met control room staff, and "a lack of adequate communication" of the policies.The jury also found that opportunities to reduce the risk to Mr Johnson and the public by the driver in the pursuit were missed.
Ms Hassell, senior coroner for Inner North London, echoed the jury's conclusion that the Met had failed "to implement, disseminate and train relevant staff on relevant policies effectively" and she warned action should be taken to prevent future deaths.She said: "It seemed to me from the evidence in court that there was not a consistent expectation among police officers of how long it generally takes a police controller to make a decision on authorisation of a pursuit."Whilst I do not suggest there should be a time limit on this, it would seem helpful if the expectation of the timing of police control decision-making were to be roughly aligned between those making the decisions (in the police control room) and those waiting for the decisions (in police cars involved in the pursuits)."Mr Johnson's medical cause of death was given as blunt abdominal trauma with an aortic rupture.Copies of the coroner's prevention of future deaths report were sent to the Met Police commissioner, Mr Johnson's mother, the director general of the police watchdog - the Independent Office for Police Conduct - and the chief coroner of England and Wales.PC Paul Summerson was found not guilty of causing Mr Johnson's death by dangerous driving in October 2021 following a trial at Kingston Crown Court.He was also cleared of causing serious injury by dangerous driving his passenger, Louis Kyriacou.The Met has been approached for comment.
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