Police believed they had several opportunities to intercept a car before it was allegedly used to mow down pedestrians in Bourke Street, but were directed not to, the Police Association secretary says.
Police had been monitoring the maroon Holden Commodore for hours before it entered the CBD at 1.30pm last Friday, and had tried to engage in a number of pursuits and intercepts that were called off because of the risk to the public.
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But union secretary, Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles, said there were several occasions where police believed they could have safely intercepted and arrested him, but were told not to by their superiors.
One occasion was in Chapel Street, sometime between 10am and 11.30am, where the Commodore was stuck in heavy traffic.
"It couldn't move. That's the appropriate time to take a car out," Senior Sergeant Iddles said.
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said on Monday police were making split-second decisions.
"They're feeling this morning, along with the rest of the community, 'Oh gee, if I had made a different decision', but I absolutely back them 100 per cent," Mr Ashton told 3AW.
"You're in a position where you have to make those calls and make them in your best judgment and certainly these officers, everything tells me, they're making decisions at the time in what's best for the community."
Mr Ashton said police almost had the car "a couple of times", and tried surrounding it, including in the city.
There were reports that police had seven to eight chances to ram the car, but Mr Ashton said there was no information in the logs that reflected that.
"It's not our policy to ram cars, it's not a normal thing to do," he said.
Victorian State Coroner Sara Hinchey will probe the police response – including the pursuit policy – in the lead-up to the incident in Bourke Street. It will form part of a broader investigation.
Conflict erupted between force command and members after the pursuit policy was changed in July 2015. It followed a review by coroner John Olle in response to the deaths of 14 people in almost five years in – or just after – pursuits.
The new rules restricted police to pursuing only when there was a threat to public safety or when a serious offence such as murder had been committed.
Previously police could pursue for any offence as long as they stuck to a strict risk assessment, which was also tightened under the new regulations.
But the wording of the policy gave rise to a culture of fear, particularly among senior ranks where they are excessively risk-averse, police said.
Officers also said the narrow scope of justification for pursuits denied them the chance to weigh the risks and benefits of chasing.
And out on the street, criminals were coaching each other on how to bait police into a pursuit and then shake them. There were a small contingent that already knew they wouldn't be chased if they crossed onto the wrong side of the road or drove at excessive speeds. But the information was shared and copycat behaviour increased with media coverage, and publicity from Victoria Police.
Police reported offenders committing burnouts in front of stations and throwing things at divvy vans. There was a case in Wodonga where youths were driving around in an overloaded convertible graffitied with "f--- pigs", "cop hunter" and "chase?".
There were also deaths of innocent passers-by that police linked to the policy. Two stolen cars that were not pursued later crashed and killed two people in separate incidents, an officer was run over and others were shot at.
Force command reviewed the policy again and tweaked some wording, but it remained largely unchanged with senior police saying the focus had to change from "you run, we chase" to "you run, we investigate" given the extreme driving that had spread among criminals.
Force command also kept the changes secret, hoping to stop the spread of information.
In a review carried out by the union early last year, members wrote of their frustration.
"Generally, I supposed public safety would have increased, because if there is less pursuits [than] less people are put in danger. The unknown is, if an offender continues to drive dangerously without a police pursuit, this person could still injured a person or worse, because their driving can continue untouched," one wrote.
"The policy is not policing. It has introduced many more dangers to police and the public that are created by these guidelines and unforeseen by management," wrote another.
The union made a number of recommendations 11 months ago that included giving members back the discretion to continue or halt a pursuit, round-the-clock aerial support (which is being implemented by Victoria Police) and access to remote car disabling technology.
A similar debate has been raging in Western Australia, where its police union in its pre-election submission called on the next state government to introduce legislation to allow police to use force (such as ramming) and roadblocks to end pursuits sooner.
"The current WA Police policy requires police officers to abort pursuits when they become too dangerous," acting president Brandon Shortland said.
"Offenders are acutely aware of the termination provisions, which they breach at the earliest opportunity to ensure free reign."
The issue came to a head last year when an innocent elderly couple died after their Nissan Pulsar collided with a Ford Falcon sedan driven by a 16-year-old boy fleeing police.
In 2015, there were 1029 pursuits in WA, roughly three pursuits per day.