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No more guidelines to prevent tragedies |
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Written by Pamela Roth
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Saturday, April 25 2009, 10:31 PM |
Guidelines related to police pursuits have been revised since the death of a Blood Tribe woman who was riding in a stolen vehicle being pursued by police. But a provincial court judge is at a loss for further recommendations in order to make sure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen again.
Following a public fatality inquiry in Cardston last March into the death of Lethbridge resident 30-year-old Shannon Faye Redcrow, provincial court judge Tim Hironaka wrote in his report “it is difficult and probably beyond the scope of this inquiry to make any meaningful recommendation for the prevention of similar deaths.”
Hironaka noted that since Redcrow’s death, both the Blood Tribe Police and the RCMP guidelines relative to pursuits have been revised. Even though the revisions have not made any major changes to procedures, they remind police officers to consider the need for immediate apprehension versus the level of danger created to the public by initiating a pursuit.
In September 2006, Redcrow was the rear passenger in a stolen vehicle that was being pursued by the Blood Tribe Police five kilometres south of Highway 505 West near Glenwood. The vehicle left the roadway and hit a dry river embankment. All occupants of the vehicle had been drinking, and the driver’s blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit
The three male passengers who wearing seatbelts suffered only minor injuries, however, the seatbelt where Redcrow was seated was broken. Redcrow died as a result of blunt force injuries of her neck and chest. Evidence indicates the Blood Tribe Police did comply with the procedures in place with regard to high speed pursuits.
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