A police officer who was driving a van that followed two teenage boys before they died in an e-bike crash in Cardiff, triggering hours of disorder in the city, will not face charges, prosecutors have said.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had decided not to bring criminal charges against the South Wales police officer following the deaths of Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, in Ely, Cardiff, on 22 May 2023.
Kyrees and Harvey died when they crashed on a Sur-Ron bike minutes after CCTV captured them being followed by a police van. The disorder afterwards included violent clashes with police and damage to property.
Malcolm McHaffie, the head of the CPS special crime division, said: “Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the two teenagers following their tragic deaths in May 2023.
“Following a thorough and detailed review of the evidence in relation to a single allegation of dangerous driving in this case, we have decided that no criminal charges will be brought against a South Wales police officer.
“We have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. We fully understand that this will be disappointing news for the families of both boys and will offer a meeting with them to explain our reasoning further.”
The decision is subject to the victims’ right of review (VRR) scheme, which provides a victim or their families in some classes of case with a specifically designed process to exercise the right to review certain CPS decisions not to start a prosecution or to stop a prosecution.
The deaths provoked a night of violent disorder that left 15 police officers wounded. Rioters claimed they had gathered to pay respect to the dead boys before clashes broke out with officers from South Wales police.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it submitted a file of evidence to the CPS to consider an offence of dangerous driving for the driver of a police van.
David Ford, an IOPC director, said: “We know that the boys’ deaths have had a deep impact on the local community and I want to thank everyone again for their patience while we carried out our detailed investigative work.”
He added: “We are finalising our position over any potential disciplinary proceedings in relation to the driver of the police van and will provide a further update once final decisions have been made.”
The watchdog said an additional investigation into family complaints against South Wales police, which covered a number of areas including the families’ treatment at the scene of the incident, was close to concluding.
