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A review into a police chase through Hay River that resulted in a bystander’s vehicle being hit has found an officer broke RCMP policy on pursuits.
Nicolinea Minakis was driving her daughter to school at around 8 a.m. on January 21 when another vehicle crashed into the side of her pickup truck in the Northwest Territories town.
RCMP confirmed a driver fleeing police crashed into another vehicle.
Minakis told Cabin Radio she was making a left turn from 102 Avenue onto the Hay River Highway when her truck was T-boned, leaving her with a concussion, open head wounds and neck pain that persists today.
Police later said they were conducting a review of the crash. That review has now concluded.
“A review of the incident determined that the actions of police did not align with the existing pursuit policy,” said RCMP spokesperson Cpl Josh Seaward in an email to Cabin Radio.
He said RCMP policy is to not “initiate or continue a vehicle pursuit unless we reasonably believe that the suspect has committed or is imminently about to commit a serious act of violence against another person, and only if failing to immediately arrest the suspect would pose a greater risk to public safety than a pursuit.”
Infractions of the N.W.T. Motor Vehicles Act had triggered the initial attempted traffic spot, Seaward said.
An investigation found the driver knew police were trying to stop him and was actively attempting to evade officers, he added.
After the crash, the accused – identified as Jacob Moore – was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and flight from a peace officer.
In April, a warrant was issued for the accused after he failed to appear in court. Seaward said the warrant remains in place.
“The RCMP encourages the driver to be accountable for his actions and turn himself in to police,” said Seaward.
Asked if the officer who pursued the driver faced any disciplinary action for failing to follow the RCMP’s policy on pursuits, Seaward said “correcting actions were implemented, including reviews of divisional and national pursuit policy.”
Questions about whether any other actions were taken, and whether any changes were made to the pursuit policy, were not answered before publication.
Minakis said she had received minimal communication from RCMP since the crash.
“I never got an apology and they haven’t reached out to me at all,” she said.
She said has been trying for months to get a copy of the police’s collision report at the request of her insurer.
“It just seemed like they just didn’t want help me,” Minakis said.
Most recently, she said, police told her to file an access to information request to receive the report.
Minakis said she wasn’t surprised by the result of the RCMP’s review, which she did not know had concluded until being approached by Cabin Radio. She said she received little validation from its findings.
“I knew they were in the wrong as soon as it happened,” said Minakis.
She said she’d like to see accountability from both the driver and the RCMP.
“I still feel angry about the situation, because we could have died,” said Minakis.
“Just because we survived, it doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be anyone held accountable.”
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