Shannon McQuillan, a 19-year-old student at Ulster University, and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Owen McFerran, were both hit by a van on the Moneynick Road in Co Antrim in the early hours of 20 January 2018.

The collision happened not long after they had been left alone at a nearby bus shelter by three PSNI officers, a Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) paramedic and a trainee emergency technician.

Ms McQuillan was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, while Mr McFerran survived with life-changing injuries.

An investigation by the Police Ombudsman has reached damning conclusions about the conduct of the three PSNI officers.

There were multiple breaches in the duty of care offered to Ms McQuillan and Mr McFerran, with officers failing to complete even the most basic checks in relation to them, to recognise the vulnerability and risks of leaving the two alone together beside a road, or to safeguard the couple’s welfare.

The Police Ombudsman has recommended that a new policy is put in place between the PSNI and the NIAS to deal with people who are intoxicated and refuse medical treatment.

During its investigation, the Police Ombudman’s office submitted a file to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in relation to the three PSNI officers for the potential offences of gross negligence manslaughter and misconduct in public office.

The PPS directed that none of the police officers should be prosecuted, and upheld that decision following a review requested by the McQuillan family.

Subsequent PSNI misconduct proceedings found that the conduct of two of the three officers who had attended the ambulance amounted to gross misconduct.

One was dismissed from the PSNI, while the other was given a written warning. The dismissal was set aside on appeal, but the officer passed away before a new hearing could be held. 

The third officer was disciplined for failing to submit and retain her own original signed statement about the incident, while another officer who amended the statement and failed to ensure that the original was kept was given advice to improve her conduct.

The Police Ombudsman’s chief executive, Hugh Hume, said: “More should have been done in this case to protect the extremely vulnerable young woman and man from harm.

“The police response was wholly inadequate, and a police misconduct panel supported the Ombudsman’s evidence that there had been a failure of professional duty. 

“Safeguarding vulnerable people in an operational environment is an important and frequent role for first responders. Ineffective or ill-informed decisions can, as in this case, have dreadful and far-reaching consequences.

“It is therefore essential that police officers and all frontline partners work together smoothly and efficiently to minimise the risk to those whose judgement and health appears impaired. 

“This tragic case therefore demonstrates the absolute need for effective and well understood joint protocols between the PSNI and the NIAS to deal with such circumstances.

“Frontline staff must recognise their collective professional duty of care, and they should be supported in their responsibilities by agreed inter-agency professional practice.”

Barry O’Donnell, associate solicitor at KRW LAW, which is acting for the McQuillan family, said: “The tragic death of Shannon McQuillan has left a serious void within the McQuillan family.

“We will carefully consider the findings of the Police Ombudsman with the family and advise them further.

“The family have already issued High Court civil proceedings last year against the chief constable of the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

“They believe the tragic death of Shannon could have been prevented and hope today’s findings provide some vindication for their long-held views.”

PSNI assistant chief constable Anthony McNally said: “Our thoughts today are very much with everyone who has been affected by this awful and tragic incident.

“We recognise that this will again be a particularly difficult day for Shannon McQuillan’s family, Owen McFerran and his family. 

“We also recognise the impact that this incident had and continues to have on our officers and their families.

“We accept that more could and should have been done by police to prevent the circumstances that preceded Shannon’s death and Owen’s injuries. For that we are truly sorry.

“We will now take further time to carefully consider the Ombudsman’s report and assure ourselves that lessons have been learnt particularly around the identification of vulnerability, risk assessment and adherence to service policy.”