Report Released in Fatal Crash

The province’s independent Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) released its report today into a single vehicle crash that claimed the life of a 44-year-old man.  

At approximately 1 a.m., on July 6, 2020, an officer with the Cape Breton Regional Police noticed a vehicle displaying a licence plate that was registered to another vehicle. The officer initiated their emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver failed to pull over. The officer then hit their siren, but the vehicle continued down the road turning onto Prince Street and accelerated away from the officer. With the emergency equipment fully engaged, the officer pursued the vehicle for a short time until advised by their supervisor to stop the pursuit.

The driver, who had gone down a dead-end street, turned the vehicle around and continued its dangerous operation, driving past the officer at a high rate of speed. The officer notified dispatch of the vehicle’s direction of travel. Moments later, officers found the vehicle crashed into a house on George Street.  

The driver and two occupants were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but a third passenger was deceased at the scene.

The evidence showed that the officer had ended the pursuit well in advance of the vehicle changing direction and the cause of the fatal accident was due to excessive speed and failure to negotiate a turn in an attempt to flee the police. 

In these circumstances, there are no grounds to consider any charges against the police officer.

A complete copy of the report is available at http://sirt.novascotia.ca.

SIRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. Investigations are under the direction and control of independent civilian director Felix Cacchione, who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.

Media Contact:

Felix Cacchione

Director

902-718-9707

The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner oversees and monitors complaints and investigations involving the  alleged non-criminal misconduct of municipal police officers in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Police Review Board conducts hearings of complaints when the complainant has appealed the decision made by the police agency. More information is available at https://www.novascotia.ca/opcc