Fatal-chase police lying say parents

By BRIDGET CARTER

The family of teenager Erin Burgess, who was killed after a high-speed police chase, have accused officers of lying about events that led to her death.

Bryon Burgess made the claim in a Whangarei courtroom at the close of a three-day inquest into the death of his 18-year-old daughter.

Coroner Max Atkins said he also was concerned about "discrepancies in evidence" and said his report would contradict police claims that they had ended the pursuit.

He reserved his findings into the cause of the deaths of Erin Burgess and motorcyclist Kuran Brunton, who collided with the young woman's car as he sped away from police on State Highway 1 near Whangarei on May 12.

Mr Atkins said he would be finding that the pursuit was still going on when the accident took place, "to the point Mr Brunton believed it was".

Mr Burgess said his family were Christians, and he and his wife, Kathy, had accepted the death of their youngest daughter. But they wanted police to admit their mistakes and apologise.

"We have always been strong supporters of the police, but our faith has been shaken," he said.

"I believe the police are not being completely truthful about their involvement."

Kathy Burgess gave evidence that she saw two police cars chasing right behind a motorcycle moments before Erin was fatally injured. Other witnesses corroborated her evidence.

But the police have maintained that only one patrol car was near the motorcycle at the end of the chase and that police had backed off.

Kevin Burgess, Erin's uncle, told the coroner the family always knew police had not given up the chase.

They kept quiet until the hearing, and even said publicly that they did not blame the police.

"Here we have sat through two days of police evidence that at times we could not believe," said Kevin Burgess.

He believed police drove through the crash scene because they were driving too quickly to stop.

Kevin Burgess said the officer in the dog-handling unit did not want to give up the chase, and did not give up the chase.

And two young police officers ignored a police order to stay on the side of the road.

Police started chasing Mr Brunton, 29, of Pukekohe, around 8.45pm at Waipu, where he was checked at 147km/h on an unwarranted and unregistered motorcycle that he had no licence to ride.

He had taken cannabis and methamphetamine, and in his backpack was a .22 rifle he had no licence to use.

About 26km later, on a corner at Otaika, south of Whangarei, he collided with Ms Burgess, of South Auckland, who was driving south to Ruakaka with her boyfriend.

The coroners court hearing has also heard that:

* Three police vehicles chased Mr Brunton at up to 205km/h, rather than 180km/h as stated by Detective Superintendent Steve Shortland, who is heading investigations into police conduct.

* Some officers involved in the chase were not interviewed by the investigating officer.

* More than one constable did not obey radio commands and seemed reluctant to withdraw from the chase.

Making his comments about the police, Mr Atkins said he was equally concerned that more emphasis had not been placed on Mr Brunton's actions, which were the prime cause of the accident.

A spokesman from the Police Commissioner's office said police would prefer to wait until the coroner had made a written decision before responding to it.