Police decision to withdraw charge after fatal crash 'inexplicable'

A police decision to withdraw a charge against a man concerning a fatal motorcycle accident near Rotorua in early 2019 was labelled "inexplicable" by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).

In the early evening of January 29 2019, 57-year-old Tony Parahi was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle alongside Lake Rotorua.

Ahead of him was a farm worker driving a 12m long tractor and trailer, who pulled over to his left to let two cars pass. He then turned right to pull into a paddock, which was in the victim's path.

Parahi braked heavily to try avoid a collision, but lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown onto the roadway.

The motorcycle vaulted into the air and landed on him, causing him chest and abdominal injuries which led to him dying at the scene.

ADVERTISEMENT

On the day of the accident, a constable specialising in traffic matters arrived at the crash scene.

Officers interviewed witnesses a week after the crash, and following the farm worker's interview, the constable had to contact him again to clarify details.

A police investigation later found the interviewing of witnesses to be 'sub-standard'.

The crash report found that there were no mechanical issues, no road or weather issues, and no alcohol and drugs involved.

Parahi did not hold a motorcycle licence, and had recently had his car licence suspended for three months for speeding and excess demerit points. However, the Coroner's expert found that a licensed and potentially more skilled rider could have also lost control of the motorcycle in the same circumstances.

The district road policing manager made the decision to charge the farm worker with careless driving causing death in July 2019, a decision made very close to the six-month cut-off date for charges to be filed.

The farm worker pleaded not guilty and his lawyer engaged a former police crash analyst to come to his own conclusion: "It is of my opinion that this crash has been as a result of [Parahi's] actions that have caused him to lose control of his Harley Davidson motorcycle."

ADVERTISEMENT

After receiving this assessment, a police prosecutor requested a second legal review. In cases where police and a defence witness have differing expert opinions, the court generally expects the experts to confer, to establish what aspects of the evidence may be in agreement, and what is in issue.

Prior to this expert conference occurring, the police prosecutor withdrew the charge on May 19 2020, reasoning that “the facts will not support the premise of a reasonable prospect of conviction".

The decision to withdraw the charge was described as "inexplicable" by IPCA chair, Judge Kenneth Johnston KC.

"In our view the matter should have been decided in court by a judge."

Parahi's whānau did not receive communication that the charge had been dismissed until six days later on May 25 as the police whānau liaison had three days off.

Johnston considers the delay to be "unacceptable".

"The communication should have been prioritised and re-assigned if Officer A was not available."

ADVERTISEMENT

Parahi's whānau filed a complaint with the IPCA in December 2021 regarding the quality of the police investigation, the decision to withdraw the charge and poor communication.

They also suggested a police bias in the crash investigation due to the fact Parahi was a "large, tattooed, Māori male riding a Harley Davidson." They believe that this led to some blame being placed on Parahi and to the farm worker avoiding full prosecution.

Johnston was "unable to reach a view on bias by police, except to observe that the withdrawal of the charge against Mr Z was made without appropriate process or a clear and documented reason".

A previous report by the coroner found Parahi's death was "avoidable", with the farm worker misjudging the distance between the vehicles.

Police response

In a statement, Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers said it would have been more appropriate to refer the prosecution back to court for a judge to consider if the charge should have been dismissed.

"Our Bay of Plenty staff have met with the victim’s whānau to apologise for the grief that this caused them, at a time when they were dealing with the loss of a loved one," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We sincerely regret the impact that this protracted matter has had on the victim’s whānau, and we resolve to do better.”

Police accept that there were some shortcomings in this serious crash investigation.

"Numerous steps are now in place to mitigate and ensure that the process is more robust," said a police spokesperson.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7crrEsKpnm59ju7t7kWlpbGdhZnxxg46ppqWhk5p6pbHCoqqip55iwbB51qKroZyilsRur8eaqaCdXZaztbHRZqSorJ%2BnsLqvy6KqrWWUnrK0ecinnLGonJ6woq7LnmY%3D