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Convoy of cops chased grandad

Neal Keeling

August 07, 2008

A BIKER grandad died after a 50-minute police chase involving several squad cars and the force plane.

And it emerged today all officers wanted to do was check his documents. Now EIGHT of them have been suspended from driving duties.

Alan Long, 54, was the 25th person killed in six years on Greater Manchester roads in incidents involving GMP vehicles - one of the worst records in the country.

The police control room tried to call off the chase a number of times, but the pursuit went on.

Officers had signalled for Mr Long to pull over because of a driving document offence. He failed to stop and was chased for more than 50 minutes, with a number of vehicles joining the pursuit. The force plane was also scrambled.

Senior officers within GMP are understood to be furious and an investigation has been launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

One senior source said: "There is concern within GMP as to whether the correct procedures were followed.

"At one stage, apparently, a convoy of police vehicles was involved in the pursuit."

The chase began in Denton and Mr Long drove on and off the M60 until he was involved in a crash with a car in Stalybridge. He was taken to Tameside General after the Friday crash and died on Saturday.

The father-of-five, from Denton, had 13 grandchildren and was described as a `passionate biker'. His wife Julie said he `lived life to the full'.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "GMP can confirm that eight police officers have had their driving authority withdrawn."

At least one of the police vehicles was an unmarked car from the Traffic Vehicle Crime Unit.

The IPCC probe will look at how many vehicles were involved and whether they followed correct procedure. They must also establish why police first wanted Mr Long to stop.

The IPCC published a study on police accidents last year and chairman Nick Hardwick said they believed bike pursuits `can be particularly dangerous as the rider is much more vulnerable' than a car driver.

He added: "We recommend these pursuits should be limited to instances where serious crime has been committed."

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Most recent user comments 12 of 12

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I witnessed the chase go past the BP garage in Stalybridge, just seconds before the crach. I estimate the bike (and convoy) were doing in axcess of 60mph. I couldn't believe what I was seing. It was like something you see in America, where there is one stolen car and 20 police cars following. There's no doubt that there is more to this than just a routine stop for document check. If not, then why so many police cars persuing. As a biker myself, I offer my condolences to the entire family and friends. Mike

xf8u, Audenshaw
11/08/2008 at 15:24

Its a great pity that he died .... but .... He should have stopped when requested to do so !!!, at his age he shopuld have known that !!

I also feel that I have to comment on the words of his daughter ... "and for him in the vw he suffered whiplash at least his family arnt planning a funeral!!! " .... I AM CERTAINLY GLAD THE VW DRIVERS FAMILY ARE NOT PLANNING A FUNERAL as it was not his fault that he was involved !!!! If you are requested to stop, you SHOULD stop, no two ways about it.

A very sad state of affairs all of this, it could so easily have been avoided, my sincere condolences do go out to his family.

Dennis the Menace, Hyde
9/08/2008 at 01:49

I witnessede the chase at the roundabout at denton, it was outragous how close and fast, the 4 police cars were in pursuit, I commented at the time that the police would kill him, tragically they did, blood on their hands!!!!!

philip hughes
9/08/2008 at 00:43

The occupants of the car which was hit are lucky to have only suffered minor injuries. The car could have been a family with fatal consequences or an innocent pedestrian(s). Not stopping for the police when requested is an offence and any one failing to stop and tring to escape the police are driving recklessly and without consideration to other road users.

Lindsey Leonard
8/08/2008 at 13:32

Well who was in the wrong? The police or a man who desided to basically run from them. I have a couple of comments you dont run from the police unless you have something to hide. No the police are not responsible forhis death he was!. As for the coment havnt the police got better things to do then get involved with a pursuit. Well lets see.. They have no way to identify him in reality... he had on a helmet so the bike could have been stolen and used in a crime. Also .. whne you ask some one to pull over and they refuse then you are looking at some one who may have commited a murder , serious robbery, rape or a terrorist crime. So What do you do let him go thiking he might get hurt if we chase him and then how many peple might he have killed. Evading the police is a crime basically thats what he did. What did he have to hide that he felt he had t run he was not above the law and would be alive if he had pulled over. The police didnt cause the crash He did. You can argue all you want but you cannot get away from the fact he was running from the police!

tbag, usa
8/08/2008 at 04:03

The police are sayin they went up the motorway but they didnt go all the way cos they passed my house at high speed and ime in mottram..he should have stopped but then they didnt need so many cars chasing 1 bike

purplehazeuk, tameside
7/08/2008 at 22:40

So "annoyed" the person in the VW should count themselves lucky as they only got whiplash!

At the end of the day, the accident was entirely preventable if Mr. Long had pulled over at the request of the police. The police do have a right to question, it is just how they go about it. I don't think the police should have sent a "convoy" just to chase some papers.

Also "annoyed" you may want to check this article:

http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/1061084_tribute_to_biker_killed_in_crash

"A message from his daughters stated: ‘You're an idiot! What have we told you about that bike! Can't believe you're gone.’"

Tameside Eye - http://tameside-eye.blogspot.com/
7/08/2008 at 15:57

"At one stage, apparently, a convoy of police vehicles was involved in the pursuit."

Why so many? Haven't the police got better things to pursue? I would like to know why the police wanted to check the papers.

I also think Mr. Long should of pulled over as requested if he had nothing to hide.

There does seem to be a string of "cock ups" from GMP recently, mainly coming from Tameside.

Tameside Eye - http://tameside-eye.blogspot.com/
7/08/2008 at 14:13

for you who posted a comment from stalybridge (icehockeynut)alan long WASNT an idiot i new him well infact i knew him pretty well coz im his daughter so dont you dare mad mouth my dad when hes not even cold in his grave and for him in the vw he suffered whiplash at least his family arnt planning a funeral!!!

annoyed
7/08/2008 at 14:00

The police have a hard enough job to do at the moment without having to deal with idiots who don't stop when asked to. This was a 54 year old man with children and grandchildren, surely he should have had more sense, what kind of image is he now portraying to those children, its ok to disobey traffic laws and the police. What about the poor driver of the car, he didn't ask to be involved in this and now he has been hurt in the process for simply driving down a road.

icehockeynut, Stalybridge
7/08/2008 at 12:08

was he braking the law,yes by not stopping,if it was a18 year old ,he would be classed differently,he had mirrors on his bike,and he wasnt blind.

urdygurdy
7/08/2008 at 11:07

GMP bullying tactics again. What a waste of life, just because these so called police officers didn't want to go out and solve real crime, but just harass a senior biker so they could check his documents. They must have had his Registration details, so why not check up through DVLA? These so called police officers shouldn't just be suspended from driving duties, they should be dismissed from the force immediatley, and stripped of all pension rights. What the hell kind of police force have we got in this country, and especially GMP? Certainly not a viable one that we can trust. What a terrible waste of life they have caused.