Officials are still investigating why the crash suspects allegedly sped away from the crash and whether police chased them, but the tragedy has raised questions about when and if police pursuits are warranted. The two occupants of the vehicle who allegedly fled the traffic police – a male driver and a female passenger – were arrested at the scene. They were released from custody and are scheduled to appear in Vancouver District Court on November 29. Transit police have recommended they be charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and fleeing police, but charges have yet to be laid, a force spokesman said. The crash claimed the lives of two teenagers who were driving home from soccer practice. Samir Olyad Suleiman Ali, 18, and Yasbrat Habtamu, 17, died in hospital shortly after the crash on Tuesday night. Metro Vancouver transit police, which have police powers like other municipal police forces, were overseeing the traffic stop. BC’s Office of Independent Investigations, which reviews all police actions that result in death or serious injury, is investigating whether police pursued the fleeing vehicle, said Ronald MacDonald, the IIO’s chief political officer. “That, of course, is one of the very important things we’re looking at,” MacDonald said. “So one of the things we look at is if there was a pursuit, was it necessary? Was it appropriate? Did it follow the appropriate law and guidelines?” Usually a police pursuit occurs when a suspect has committed or is about to commit a serious crime and not apprehending him immediately would pose a greater danger to the public than a pursuit. Two people were killed when the car they were driving collided with a vehicle fleeing transit police on July 26, 2022. (Shane MacKichan) Kash Heed, a former police chief who briefly served as BC’s attorney general, says officers need to ask themselves whether the pursuit is worth the risk. “Was this criminal offense an indictable offense that would mean you should immediately arrest this person to stop them from continuing to act?” he said. Heed says that before a pursuit, officers need to consider whether there is another way to apprehend a suspect at that time or later. “For example, if you have the license plate, if you have [a] visually, if you have some kind of video, whether it’s from your dash cam or something like that,” Hind said. In a statement, BC’s Ministry of Public Safety said police agencies must establish operational policies regarding police pursuits, which include following the Emergency Driving Regulation and setting a threshold for initiating a pursuit. Hind says some jurisdictions have banned stalking, a practice he opposes. He believes the policies in place are adequate if they are enforced and officers follow them.
The cost of police pursuits
A study published last year by an independent public watchdog found that 77 people died in police pursuits over a 10-year period in Canada. The study analyzed 871 pursuits involving the RCMP and other police forces nationwide. It found that officers were injured in 7 percent of the chases the researchers looked at. Drivers and passengers in fleeing vehicles were injured in 23 percent of pursuits, while innocent people were injured in 10 percent of cases. The study said aerial pursuits — helicopter, drone or fixed-wing aircraft — are more effective and less dangerous, but are also more expensive. Independent Bureau of Investigation detectives are shown at the Vancouver scene of a police shooting in April. The IIO is investigating last week’s crash and the events leading up to it. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Chrissy Burbank’s daughter was killed in 2000 when a stolen car suspect being pursued by the RCMP crashed into her vehicle. Burbank said police pursuits should only occur in rare cases, such as child abductions and other serious crimes. “People go to work, enjoy life, go to school and it’s gone in the blink of an eye,” he said.
