Officers 'had to make own judgement' on pursuit of vehicle which crashed and killed Oldbury teen Benjamin Hopton
Police officers who pursued a car driven by Oldbury teenager Benjamin Hopton which eventually crashed and killed him have said they didn't have full authorisation for the chase.
But they say the incident lasted such a short time that although they radioed colleagues in the control room, the incident happened too quickly for them to get authorisation and they had to use their own judgment.
Benjamin Hopton, aged 17, was killed when the Honda he was driving failed to stop for police and hit a tree on Coombs Road near the junction with Amber Way, Halesowen. in the early hours of January 5 last year.
The second day of the full inquest into his death opened with harrowing footage being played of the moment the car faltered and then left the road.
The jury heard evidence from three officers who were involved in the pursuit, which lasted less than three minutes. All of them said they made the decision to pursue the Honda as they suspected the occupants may have been involved in the the earlier theft of a stolen Mercedes which was recovered in Britannia Road, Rowley Regis.
The driver of the first West Midlands Police patrol car, which took over from an initial chase by a Staffordshire Police officer said he had radioed the control room with details like road and weather conditions and whether any pedestrians were around.
PC Matthew Brittain said he was part of a group of officers who were carrying out a targeted operation to crack down on car key and keyless thefts in the Halesowen, Dudley and Netherton areas. He was in a patrol car with Officer A, who also gave evidence but cannot be named.
He said: "I was in a car with a colleague when I received the information about the Mercedes at Rowley Regis and within minutes of arriving was told about the Honda which had failed to stop when asked by a colleague.
"It is true I didn't know who the occupants were or how many were in the car, but I made the assumption that they may have been responsible for the theft of the Mercedes.
"The pursuit was short. We did radio in to the control room as is procedure with details of it and normally they would give the go-ahead or tell us to abort.
"Unfortunately there wasn't time for them to reply or for air assistance to come out which would normally mean we would stand down, in this case the officer or officers have to make a judgment based on their experience and the circumstances."
PC Brittain said his patrol car reached speeds of 70mph 'when it was safe' in a built up area where the national speed limit was 30.
Christian Weaver, representing Mr Hopton's family, questioned PC Brittain asking if he had heard the previous information when the car failed to stop after driving erratically that it might be being driven by someone who was intoxicated or unable to properly control the vehicle or that it might be stolen
The officer said he had considered all factors available to him and carried out an ongoing risk assessment before the Honda left the road.
A statement was read out from Sgt Richard Storer one of the lead officers in the police operation on vehicle theft and a force trainer of officers involved in tactical pursuit operations.
Sgt Storer stated that they had every reason to believe the occupants of the Honda may have been involved in the theft of the Mercedes due to the proximity of both cars and the fact people who have stolen and abandoned a car normally have another vehicle close by to escape in.
The inquest continues.