Three unarmed officers followed taxi driver during killing spree but were unable to stop shootings, police say
Press Association
Cumbrian police confirmed today that three officers saw Derrick Bird shoot a taxi driver and passenger during his gun rampage, but said: "At no point did they have an opportunity to end the killings sooner."
Three unarmed constables saw Bird in Whitehaven last Wednesday morning.
But Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said: "This incident was unprecedented and exceptional circumstances were fast-moving and highly dangerous.
"Had any officer or member of staff had the clear opportunity to stop Bird, I am confident they would have taken it".
Having already killed his twin brother, David, the family solicitor and a colleague in Whitehaven, Bird evaded police and went on to kill nine more people before turning his gun on himself.
The force said a neighbourhood policing officer first gave chase after commandeering a car. But he abandoned the pursuit to help a taxi driver whom Bird had shot.
Two other unarmed officers in a police van then took up the chase but they stopped when Bird halted and pointed his gun at them.
The first sighting came when the neighbourhood policing officer heard shots at around 10.30am in Whitehaven and ran out of the police station. He saw a shotgun pointing out of the front passenger window of Bird's grey taxi, alerted colleagues and then got into the nearest vehicle, driven by a local man, to follow Bird. He saw Bird slow down as he passed a taxi travelling in the opposite direction.
