Coroner’s finding: Police officer should have seen cyclist Jamie Douglas Kneale before fatal collision

A coroner has found there was “no rational explanation” why an on-duty police officer didn’t see a cyclist before his vehicle hit him, resulting in the cyclist’s death. WA Coroner Michel Jenkin said he found it difficult to understand how it was possible the officer didn’t see 43-year-old Jamie Douglas Kneale until it was too late. Mr Kneale died from catastrophic head injuries. The police officer, whose name was suppressed, said he wasn’t distracted when his vehicle hit Mr Kneale on a Gosnells roundabout in daylight on March 29, 2016. “I can only imagine how much more difficult it must be for Mr Kneale’s family to cope with their loss, in circumstances where although the physical cause of his death is known, the circumstances which led to the collision remain unexplained,” Mr Jenkin said. Mr Jenkin also criticised senior police for not reaching out to Mr Kneale’s grieving family early enough. “It is unfortunate that the family were left feeling that the subsequent approach of the police was primarily focused on protecting (the officer), and that their needs were effectively overlooked,” he said. “This perception was compounded by the fact that there was very limited contact between Mr Kneale’s family members and senior police officers.” Senior police accepted the “failing”. “On reflection, not involving commissioned police officers in frequent and on-going communication with the family of Mr Knealewas a failing by WA Police in their handling of this matter,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Dallimore wrote in a letter to the court last month. Mr Kneale, who lived in Kelmscott, had been riding his bike towards his parents’ home in Gosnells when hit by the police car on a roundabout intersecting Hicks Street and Dorothy Street. He wasn’t wearing a protective helmet. “He was heading there to help his mother care for his father,” the Coroner said. “As Mr Kneale rode through the roundabout, eye-witnesses saw him put up his hand as if to signal (the officer) to stop. “(The officer’s) evidence is that he did not see Mr Kneale until the vehicle struck the rear wheel of the bicycle. The collision caused Mr Kneale to be propelled onto the vehicle’s bonnet, from where he fell heavily onto the roadway, striking his head.” “As a result of the collision, Mr Kneale sustained catastrophic head injuries and he died at RPH on the afternoon of March 30, 2016,” he added. About 50 seconds before the crash, the officer had sent a text message, having viewed two messages from police colleagues, while driving. The text message was the word “Rog”, which is short for “roger” and used to acknowledge receiving a message. “Using information obtained from (the officer’s) electronic devices and a timed reconstruction drive ... the timeline shows that although (the officer) had been using his mobile phone prior to the collision, the last time he used it was about 50 seconds before he reached Hicks Street,” the Coroner said. The accident was investigated by the WA Police major crash investigation section and the internal affairs unit. Major crash investigators determined Mr Kneale’s bike had entered the roundabout before the police car. They “concluded that (the officer) had failed to see and give way to Mr Kneale, when he clearly had an obligation to do so,” the Coroner said. The officer was charged with dangerous driving causing death. Following a six-day District Court trial, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty The officer wasn’t charged over his mobile phone use because of the “involuntary nature” of his interviews with internal affairs’ investigators. Mr Jenkin issued a recommendation “a commissioned police officer to undertake early, regular and ongoing contact with a deceased’s family members” in similar situations in future. The officer was issued with a formal warning by his superiors.