High-Speed Police Chase Leads to Fatal Accident, Fuels Debate

[webfact]

 

A high-speed pursuit by the police in Nakhon Ratchasima resulted in a tragic accident on the night of April 23. The officers from Chaloem Phra Kiat Police Station were chasing a theft suspect when his motorcycle collided with a tree. The passenger, reported to be the suspect's girlfriend, died instantly, while the suspect succumbed to his injuries the following day.

 

The police chase started behind a school in Ban Song Kuru Prachasan and continued along the Tha Chang-Nong Hua Raet road. The fatal crash occurred when the police vehicle encountered the motorcycle during an attempt to overtake it.

 

The deaths have raised questions over police chase protocols, leading to a formal investigation. Police Colonel Bandit Chatuwat, from the Chaloem Phra Kiat Police Station, stated that the case is being treated as a traffic accident.

 

Investigators are currently gathering evidence where CCTV footage is limited. Forensic Science Centre 3 officials are expected to inspect the crash site and involved vehicles.

 

Though the victims' families are yet to make statements, the investigation is believed to conclude within a week.

 

Superintendent of Johor Police Station, Police Colonel Natheer Sukhunya, highlighted the jurisdiction of Chaloem Phra Kiat Police Station over this investigation due to the accident's location. He confirmed that the officers involved have provided their accounts. 

 

Despite the tragic event, the theft case prompting the chase continues under separate investigation by Johor Police Station, expediting a report for higher authorities.

 

The accidental deaths have prompted an inquiry into police conduct during high-speed pursuits, highlighting a need for careful scrutiny of the gathered evidence and a detailed understanding of the fatal incident's circumstances.

 

Picture: Creative Commons License via Google

 

-- 2024-04-26

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[PJ71]

Wait for.........Dicky Smith to give us the break down, cause and probably solution ( oh and maybe a story about a police chase he, or someone he knows, was involved with ).

 

I wait with baited breath.

[patman30]

i was going to just type they could have pulled over,
but i suspect this part is the bit that is concerning people
 

32 minutes ago, webfact said:

The fatal crash occurred when the police vehicle encountered the motorcycle during an attempt to overtake it.

"to overtake it" ........., 

[ChrisY1]

22 minutes ago, patman30 said:

i was going to just type they could have pulled over,
but i suspect this part is the bit that is concerning people
 

"to overtake it" ........., 

In other words, cut the bike off!

[sammieuk1]

High speed pursuits Thailand enough said  🤔

[Gottfrid]

What is so strange with this. It´s easy! Stop when police ask you to and no accident would have happened. Nobody dead. End of story.

[ChipButty]

The police should have backed off if the pursuit looked to be dangerous then nobody would die, 

[Gottfrid]

Just now, ChipButty said:

The police should have backed off if the pursuit looked to be dangerous then nobody would die, 

Yeah, let people get away, and let them stop police from doing their work, right? Nothing wrong with the police in this case, if you are not going after European way of thinking. Sorry, this is Thailand. Get used to it. The person who died, should have stopped. Then the person would still be alive.

[Rampant Rabbit]

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

The police should have backed off if the pursuit looked to be dangerous then nobody would die, 

and thus  somchai the  criminal carries on "running".......the type that do this dont care for anyone so why should the Police.

[itsari]

32 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Yeah, let people get away, and let them stop police from doing their work, right? Nothing wrong with the police in this case, if you are not going after European way of thinking. Sorry, this is Thailand. Get used to it. The person who died, should have stopped. Then the person would still be alive.

The pillion passenger had little choice in the matter

[TroubleandGrumpy]

17 minutes ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

and thus  somchai the  criminal carries on "running".......the type that do this dont care for anyone so why should the Police.

Exactly!  If the Police stop pursuing, then none of the criminals will stop. They will all run knowing that the police will stop chasing them - and that puts much more people at risk of being killed/injured by them speeding away.  NO.  Publicise this outcome and tell criminals that if you run the police can and will try to stop you by any means possible - so pull over !! 

I recall that vbideo on youtube of a policeman trying to catch a guy with a girl on the back of a bike who were speeding though the streets - it went for about almost 6-8 minutes. IMO the policeman should have knocked them over - all it took was one innocent person to be out walking in the wrong place and wrong time, and boom - dead or severely injured. People that have no concern over the impact their actions could have on others, lose the right for the police to be concerned about them IMO. 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

10 minutes ago, itsari said:

The pillion passenger had little choice in the matter

BS - choke the driver, pull his head back, grab his nuts and squeeze, hit the kill switch, etc etc.  Sympathy Yes - but no regret.  Decisions and actions have consequences.  

[SAFETY FIRST]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The deaths have raised questions over police chase protocols 

Shouldn't we be blaming the villain getting chased. 

 

There would be no death if he had stopped in the first place. 

 

 

Edited April 26 by SAFETY FIRST

[Andre0720]

In the US, this would be considered 'cleansing'.

[Gottfrid]

57 minutes ago, itsari said:

The pillion passenger had little choice in the matter

I will take it, the person know what 1di0t was driving the bike. Otherwise the driver would have been sensible and stopped if the person would have asked for it.

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

What is so strange with this. It´s easy! Stop when police ask you to and no accident would have happened. Nobody dead. End of story.

Your second bizarre conclusion of the day, if he had stopped there would be no reason for this post. This article is not about what criminals should do in the face of law enforcement, the topic is about what police should do when giving chase to a suspect? Chase, or not?

 

It would really be wonderful if you could stay on point. 

[Rampant Rabbit]

1 hour ago, itsari said:

The pillion passenger had little choice in the matter

well she wont be making dumb mistakes on choosing her friends next time

[retarius]

Too much risk to innocent people, police should let the perp escape and pick him up later. 

[Tropicalevo]

Either way, it is problem solved.

This thief will not be stealing anything else.

Very sad for the lass though.

[spidermike007]

It is always going to be a very dangerous situation when a motorcycle cop chases a guy on a motorcycle or in a car. It's always going to be very difficult for him to pull the guy over unless other police can intercept the suspect, with some sort of roadblock.

 

So the question comes down to should they chase or not? I suppose it depends on the nature of the crime, if it's relatively petty shoplifting, I would say don't chase. 

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The passenger, reported to be the suspect's girlfriend, died instantly, while the suspect succumbed to his injuries the following day.

Good news.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, ChipButty said:

The police should have backed off if the pursuit looked to be dangerous then nobody would die, 

The perps could have stopped too.

[worrab]

Being Thailand, I think one can safely assume that there is no “high speed pursuit training” for the Police. The same as there is no “high speed driver awareness” courses for ambulance or fire brigade drivers. 

[This Guy]

"attempt to overtake it"  maybe "pulled along side it and gave it a push with their foot at high speed"

 

[cardinalblue]

Just shooting them like a running elk to avoid damaging nature 

[Sigmund]

In many civilised european countries, unlike the US, the police are specifically told not to engage in high speed pursuits for minor offenses like petty theft or even purse snatching. For obvious reasons to avoid such tragedies in highly congested and populated urban areas. A different story if it's at night and more quiet, but definately not recommended by many european departments in broad daylight.

 

Rules of engagement are different in Europe compared to trigger happy USA. Police cannot shoot somebody in the back and cannot engage with firearms, if there is not a factual display of means (knife or gun) that could lead to serious physical threat to the officer or bystanders.

[Gottfrid]

13 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Your second bizarre conclusion of the day, if he had stopped there would be no reason for this post. This article is not about what criminals should do in the face of law enforcement, the topic is about what police should do when giving chase to a suspect? Chase, or not?

 

It would really be wonderful if you could stay on point. 

It would also be wonderful, if you stop making assumptions on this forum, that has no foundation in reality. Just stop now Mike the Spider. You are embarrassing yourself.

[chickenslegs]

I think it's important to take into consideration that high speed pursuits can lead to deaths, not only of the suspected criminal but also the police officers and the general public who may, quite innocently, get in the way.

 

Sometimes the "crime" may be of an insignificant nature, but the consequences of the pursuit could be very grave.

 

Of course, nobody wants criminals to go unpunished, but there must be a risk assessment decision in such pursuits, and it should not be made by the pursuing police officer, whose adrenaline rush impairs his judgement.

 

In the UK a pursuing police officer is required to give constant updates about the chase, and the senior officer in the control room makes the decision whether the pursuit is justified, or should be called off. I'm sure this is the same policy in many western countries.

 

 

 

[still kicking]

10 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I think it's important to take into consideration that high speed pursuits can lead to deaths, not only of the suspected criminal but also the police officers and the general public who may, quite innocently, get in the way.

 

Sometimes the "crime" may be of an insignificant nature, but the consequences of the pursuit could be very grave.

 

Of course, nobody wants criminals to go unpunished, but there must be a risk assessment decision in such pursuits, and it should not be made by the pursuing police officer, whose adrenaline rush impairs his judgement.

 

In the UK a pursuing police officer is required to give constant updates about the chase, and the senior officer in the control room makes the decision whether the pursuit is justified, or should be called off. I'm sure this is the same policy in many western countries.

 

 

 

Same as Australia if the pursue gets to dangerous it will be called of 

[Tailwagsdog]

No one is talking about the tree !!!!!

Is the tree ok? The tree is innocent!