Matt Goodwin: lawyer surprised no investigations placed after 'Run it Straight' death

A lawyer's surprised police aren't taking investigations further, following the death of a Palmerston North teen playing a 'Run it Straight' game.

19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a serious brain injury on Sunday participating in the sport - and died in hospital on Monday. 

The tackling competition is big on social media.

Lawyer Matt Goodwin says most people participating would know there's a serious risk of injury, even death.

"So in assuming that risk, I think the question is whether it's something that's acceptable."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, as we just discussed a little bit earlier, there
are calls for bans after the death of that Parmeston
North boy in a private run at style event. Police
have said they're not going to be launching a criminal investigation.
Matthew Goodwin is a criminal lawyer at Goodwin Law Home.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Matt Hi there, how are you, Heather?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Very well? Thank you? Now are you surprised at all
that the cops are not launching a criminal investigation?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yes, i am. I think the decision not to investigates
being made very quickly and it doesn't seem to have
regard to pets all of the surrounding issues that need
to be looked at. I think the first thing that
surprised me about your interview with District Commander Grantham last

(00:43):
night was the issue of what caused Brian's death. You
asked them what the deceased or Ryan Sethwaite had banged
his head into, and District Commander Grentham said he hadn't
banged his head into anything solid. It was the movement
of his head. You asked whether that sounded like whiplash

(01:06):
and he said, well, he wasn't a doctor, so he
couldn't comment. On that, So there appears to be some uncertainty,
at least on behalf of the police, as to what
the basic mechanics of causation were of the death. You
would think that if you would think if his head
moved back in a rapid and forceful motion, that it

(01:28):
must have come into collision with some part of his opponent.
So that doesn't seem to have been clearly acknowledged or
perhaps explored by the police.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
So from what I understand that they are going to investigate,
but only in order to assist the coroner. Right if
they went down the path of a criminal investigation, then
that would be because they think somebody should be changed.
And do you think somebody should be charged or that
should even be a consideration here.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
I don't think it's easy for us, without knowing all
of the facts to be able to say whether somebody
should be charged in the situation, and the police will
have more effects than us, or at least have more
access to investigated tools to work that out. Having said that, though,
it does seem a situation where both people have participated

(02:27):
in this have basically gone run along a certain track
or distance and both body messes colliding with each other.
And you would think that most people would realize that
there's a serious risk of bodily injury or possibly even

(02:48):
death if that was to occur, and so in assuming
that risk, and I think the question is whether whether
that's something that's acceptable, whether it whether it can be
regarded as a sport, whether there are enough rules, And
if there aren't enough rules or guidelines, or one of

(03:08):
the participants moves outside of the rules, then we've got
a real problem here. I think we've got potentially criminal liability.
And if it's just in the backyard where in this case,
I think the morning after twenty first and some young
lads have decided to give it a go, then that
seems to be assuming an awful amount of risk, awful

(03:30):
lot of risk, And one would expect that there are
under safeguards that there might be in something a little
bit better organized. There isn't going to be a medical
on the sideline, There isn't going to be a referee.
There may not be sensible decisions being made about whether

(03:51):
the two people are in a fit condition to actually
do this on the morning after twenty first, when they
might still be suffering the effects of a hard night
on the on the alcohol, so there seemed to be
all the sort of I suppose, all the trappings and
dangers of something that could go wrong, which is what's
been forecasted by medical experts I thinks for the last

(04:13):
few weeks.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah, Matt, thanks very much for talking us through. That's
Matt Goodwin, criminal lawyer.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
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