‘Devastating’ outcome after police chase ends in death of Bak Mayer Cier Deng, coroner says

A coroner has described a police chase that resulted in the death of a young man as “devastating”.

A coroner could not find any evidence of “systemic issues” following an inquest into the death of a young rapper who died 26 seconds into a police foot pursuit.

Coroner Sarah Gebert this week handed down her findings into the death Bak Mayer Cier Deng, 26, who died after being struck by a car while darting through traffic in an attempt to escape a pursuing police officer on Good Friday in 2019.

An inquest into the matter was held over two days in November 2021, though this week Coroner Gebert said that after reviewing the matter and available research she was “unable to find any evidence of a systemic issue in relation to the conduct of foot pursuits which would permit me to make recommendations arising from the circumstances of the death”.

She added she was not directed to measures that could be undertaken to improve training or guidelines, though the publication of her findings would alert Victoria Police to circumstances which could “further inform and enhance the training of its members”.

The inquest had heard Mr Deng, who had completed a roofing apprenticeship and was employed as an independent contractor, had migrated from Sudan in 2006.

He had been drinking in the afternoon of April 19, 2019 when the black Ford Territory he was driving caught the attention of two police officers.

The officers, who were working on the Easter long weekend road safety operation ‘Nexus’, believed there were three people travelling in the front seat and three in the back.

About 7.10pm the officers activated their lights and sirens and intercepted the car on Ballarat Road in Deer Park.

Mr Deng, who the inquest had heard drank about six stubbies in the hours beforehand, pulled to a stop in the left hand turning lane for Cairnlea Drive, before Senior Constable McDonald approached on foot.

The inquest heard the officer saw two of the car’s occupants drinking before noticing “an overwhelming smell of alcohol coming from inside the car” and that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.

Bak Deng was struck and killed by a car while being chased by police at Deer Park in April 2019. Picture: SBS

The officer asked Mr Deng a series of questions, including his name, and to produce his driver’s licence but was told he didn’t have it on him.

The officer returned to his car to conduct checks, with the belief he had been provided with a false name, when he saw Mr Deng emerge from the Ford and run along the footpath.

He quickly changed course and darted across two lanes of eastbound traffic before approaching the busy westbound lanes.

Witness statements revealed drivers honked their horns as he then pivoted and jumped back over the barrier and into the eastbound lanes when he was struck “almost immediately” by a BMW X5 wagon.

The inquest heard the pursuit had lasted about 26 seconds.

Mr Deng, who had landed in the left hand lane for the Deer Park Hotel, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

A CT scan revealed significant skull fractures and a haemorrhage.

The following day two further sets of tests led doctors to conclude he was “brain dead”, though he remained on a ventilator for nine days to allow his family time to return from overseas.

The inquest heard Mr Deng did not look to his left before stepping on to the road, while the BMW driver said he had “braked as fast and hard as he could” when he saw the figure on the road.

The inquest also heard Mr Deng had never held a Victorian driver’s licence and had previously been charged with drink driving offences and unlicensed driving on three separate occasions.

He was disqualified from driving when the pursuit took place.

Statements from his passengers suggested he was “concerned he would be arrested” for driving disqualified and that he fled despite being told not to by at least one friend.

With a love of music and telling stories through song, Mr Deng was also a rapper who released songs under the name of Born Again King on social media.

In October 2017 he featured in an SBS documentary titled Tackling Crime with Rhyme: Inside Australia’s South Sudanese Community.

His brother Nyakinj had told the inquest Mr Deng was a “father figure and an angel in disguise, the purest soul, no number of words can express or do justice to the type of person he was”.

Noting the incident was captured on the officers’ body worn camera, the coroner made “no adverse comments about the actions of police that night, including the conduct of the intercept, arrest or foot pursuit”.

She concluded the actions of Mr Deng, described as a “really good guy”, were “out of character” and the outcome was “devastating”.

“A young life has been lost to all that knew and loved him.

“I convey my sincere condolences to Bak’s family who made a number of statements regarding his tragic, sudden and unexpected loss.”

Mr Deng is survived by his mother and siblings.