Toddler killed in Police chase

[Iron Zombius]

New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has defended police after a two-year-old girl died in a high-speed chase in south-west Sydney.

Officers say they were chasing two armed robbers fleeing down the Hume Highway near Ingleburn on New Year's Eve when the bandits' car ran into the back of the toddler's parents' car.

The two-year old-girl was killed and her parents were injured.

Two men have been arrested and are being questioned over the incident.

Police allege the pair - aged 26 and 21 - held up a liquor store in Peakhurst and East Hills, threatening staff with a weapon some time after 6pm AEDT yesterday.

The 21-year-old man has been charged with armed robbery.

South West region commander Stuart Wilkins has defended the police chase, saying the officers were justified in pursuing the men.

"These are dangerous criminals," he said. "These two men were wanted and police will allege they committed a number of armed robberies earlier this day.

"We located a firearm with one of the offenders who fled the scene.

"These are tragic circumstances and the officers are being looked after by the police, their welfare is being looked after, they are being interviewed as we speak surrounding the circumstances of the pursuit and they are traumatised by these events," he said.

"The circumstances of this accident will be investigated by an independent, critical incident team led by detective inspector Goddard from the Flemington local area command.

"His report and his investigation will be placed before the Coroner."

Ms Keneally says pursuits are a normal part of police operations and she will wait until a review is completed to decide if guidelines should be changed.

"There's an investigation that will occur and I'll leave it to the Police Commissioner to speak on the details," she said.

"But we need to remember a police pursuit is part of what police do, particularly when dealing with violent offenders."

It is not known what speed the police and their quarry were driving, but the speed limit where the accident happened was 80 kilometres per hour.

New South Wales Police has been criticised in the past for potentially endangering the lives of civilians in high-speed pursuits, despite having a safe driving policy.

The death of the two-year-old in the last hours of 2009 brought the national holiday road toll to 60.

obviously the "safe driving" policey only extends to the police themselves, not the innocent people that get caught up in this shit

 

[TROOPER MICK]

so fucking sad my heart aches for those poor parents

r.i.p. little one

 

[Southy]

so fucking sad my heart aches for those poor parents

r.i.p. little one

Indeed mate

 

[Shadow298]

saw the story on the ABC news and the robbers sounded like right scumbags.

they interviewed the brother of one of them and he pretty much said that "he shouldn't be done for doing a job because that's his life but he'll feel real bad about the little girl, ey".
it was also reported that straight after the crash, they tried to carjack another family at gun point.

hope that they rot for a long long time.

 

[Southy]

They'll get whats coming to them I am sure

 

[TROOPER MICK]

facebook support group for those interested

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=251823756702&ref=nf