Maria and Brett Sutherland discuss the loss of their son. Brody Sutherland was killed in a motorcycle crash in Flat Bush in 2014. The two are requesting the Coroner to hold an inquest into his death.
Grieving parents of a teenager killed in a motorcycle accident have laid a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority alleging investigation failures by Counties Manukau police.
Brody Sutherland, 17, was killed after coming off his Ducati at a Flat Bush intersection after swerving to avoid a car that pulled out in front of him on the night of April 11, 2014.
Although the driver of that car, Samuel Young, missed Brody, a driver coming up the flush median to make a right turn hit Brody, killing him.
The crash site was just blocks from Brody's parents' home, and they rushed to the crash immediately, only to be prevented from seeing their only son, who had by then died. Police "shooed" them away from the ambulance, Maria and Brett Sutherland claim.
They've labelled the ensuing police investigation inadequate and slow.
Five months after the crash police charged Young with careless driving causing death, and he was convicted more than two years later. The court heard at the time that Sutherland was thought to be speeding, and Judge Jane Lovell-Smith said Young had exercised a "high degree of carelessness" by pulling out in front of the teenager.
A year on from the sentencing, where Young was denied a discharge without conviction, the Sutherlands are holding out hope that a Coroner's inquest will answer their questions and plug what they say are "gaping holes" in the information available to them.
At their Flat Bush home the Sutherlands have stacks of documents, having spent years battling with police to obtain the police file. They've created a map of the crash site, read and reread witness statements, and hired a private detective to look into the incident. The detective was unable to make any findings, because the police refused to hand over the file until recently.
Brett Sutherland and Maria Sutherland. Their son, Brody Sutherland, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Flat Bush in 2014. Photo / Michael Craig
Among the Sutherlands' complaints to the IPCA is twice being prevented from seeing Brody's body, that his wallet was returned minus $20 he was seen putting inside it minutes before the crash, that key witnesses only gave detailed statements to police weeks after the crash, and that others weren't asked for statements at all.
They were surprised that Brody's phone and wallet were taken into evidence, but his jacket - featuring a tyre imprint which could have been vital evidence - was given back to them.
Most hurtful was coming across a police form where a constable had suggested to the morgue that the family should only be able to view Brody from behind a screen to prevent Maria Sutherland from touching his body.
"It was a road accident for goodness' sake," she said.
"To not be allowed anywhere near him ... walking away from him made me feel like I was abandoning him."
Brett Sutherland described police as "secretive" and said the investigation and court process had been protracted. Now, the family is hoping a Coroner will agree to investigate.
Brody's are devastated. Photo / Supplied
Last month they filed a complaint with the IPCA.
The Sutherlands are trying to understand the police explanation of the accident and want some resolution to the differing accounts of the accident by witnesses.
Although Coroners don't have the power to review judicial decisions, they can question witnesses and make recommendations.
"Nothing is going to bring our son back but I still don't think it's right that the police ... won't answer our questions. We've just had lots and lots of problems with them and they just will not answer us, and it's just left us sitting back going, well how did our son die?" Maria Sutherland says.
The Ministry of Justice said a date for a possible inquest had not been set. The IPCA said it couldn't confirm whether a complaint had been laid for privacy reasons.
Police said they hadn't received formal notification of the complaint, and therefore could not comment.
