News Service from House Harris

QLD: Police failed protocols twice during high-speed chase

GOLD COAST, Qld, Dec 10 AAP - Police involved in a high-speed chase that ended in the death of a bikie failed to obey pursuit protocols at least twice, an inquest has been told.

Craig Robert Shepherd, 26, a member of the Odins Warriors motorcycle gang, died after his machine skidded around a tight bend at Beechmont Road on the Gold Coast on June 16, 2006.

His female passenger survived, but suffered permanent brain damage when the bike landed on top of her.

An inquest on Wednesday was told police called off the chase just moments before the crash.

But the two police officers failed to follow the proper procedures by stopping the police car and continued trailing the bike until it crashed.

Senior Constable Stephen Chapman told the inquest there was no room on the narrow road - a notorious accident hotspot - to stop and turn back.

"(The chase) started to get a bit hairy ... and once we got onto Beechmont Road, that's when we said 'that's it'," he said.

"(But) there was nowhere to pull over."

The chase originally began 22km away near Robina, after Mr Shepherd was spotted speeding on his Red Triumph motorcycle northbound along the Pacific Motorway.

Both officers admitted they failed to notify the central communications centre alerting them to the pursuit when they began following the bike.

It is standard procedure for officers to give immediate notification if they begin a pursuit.

Const Chapman and his partner, Snr Const Hilton Buckley, said they only considered it a pursuit after about 15km.

Const Chapman then twice tried to call the communications centre - there was no answer the first time and was talked over in the second.

"In hindsight, I could have made more attempts," he told the inquest.

Four officers gave evidence to the inquest that the radio system used on the Gold Coast was of a poor standard.

Scratchy transmissions during high use and communication black holes rendered it sometimes unusable, they agreed.

But Const Chapman was also forced to admit he could have used his mobile phone to notify headquarters, having used it twice to talk to other officers during the pursuit.

The inquest, one of seven which will form a state review into police pursuits, continues before state coroner Michael Barnes.