Dad-of-four died after being 'dumped' at Metrolink station because of police 'neglect'
A vulnerable dad-of-four should not have been left by police at a Metrolink station in the early hours of the morning, and was hit by a car later on a motorway following officers’ ‘neglect’, a court has found.
Benjamin Connor, 30, was detained by Greater Manchester Police officers at a house in Rusholme, Manchester, at around 12.40am on December 28, 2021, following reports by the owner that he was armed with a knife and refusing to leave.
He ended up being dropped off by police and 'de-arrested' at Cornbrook Metrolink tram stop at around 1am. “At no point was he informed that he was arrested or what for,” a jury found as the inquest into his death concluded at Bolton Coroners’ Court today (January 22).
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“There was no assessment carried out to de-arrest him at Cornbrook, rather than the safe place said earlier… It was an unsafe de-arrest.”
The jury also concluded that the actions of the police were ‘not correct or safe’ given that Mr Connor had a ‘lack of means, money, and phone’, and that ‘transportation was terminated at the time’ Mr Connor had been dropped off at Cornbrook station.
Less than two hours later, around two miles from the station, Mr Connor was seen walking into oncoming traffic near Regent Road roundabout.
CCTV was reviewed as part of an accident investigation. The jury was told 13 vehicles were seen to pass Mr Connor as he walked 'against the flow of traffic' in and out of live lanes, and had been witnessed walking ‘steadily’.
He ‘suddenly’ walked in front of a taxi driver’s car from a central reservation on the M602 in Salford.
Mr Connor, who lived in Warrington, was taken to Salford Royal Hospital after the 2.40am collision, but died from his injuries later. Tests showed alcohol and cannabis present in his urine and blood.
Officers told the court that they believed he 'didn't pose a risk to himself', the jury was told earlier in the inquest proceedings. The jury concluded that Mr Connor died from ‘a road traffic collision, contributed to by neglect’.
Mr Connor's family criticised the decision by police to leave him at the Metrolink stop. Mr Connor’s mother, Sharon Weir, made two statements and penned a letter to the coroner's court, but sadly later died, the jury was told.
In one of the letters, Ms Weir said: "I'm in turmoil to say the least. I want to know how and why the police let my son go on that night as it was evident that he was in no fit state to be left alone. I can't understand why he was not locked up.
"Dumped at Cornbrook station with no money, phone or transport at Christmas. Our family is broken."
Mr Connor died shortly before 6am the morning of the collision. A pathologist gave a cause of death as subdural haematoma - bruising or bleeding around the brain - caused by a fractured skull. Tests showed alcohol and cannabis present in his urine and blood.
The accident investigation determined it was 'likely' that Ghulum Murtaza, the taxi driver who hit Mr Connor, had 'insufficient time and distance to respond' to him.
Private hire driver Mr Murtaza said he was driving his Renault Megane towards Manchester at the time and no passengers were inside.
Mr Murtaza said he saw Wythenshawe-born Mr Connor and tried to react, but could not avoid the collision. He told the jury: "I tried to avoid him, but it was a fraction of a second."
He said he thought another motorist was going to 'run him over again', so he stopped the car then ran over to him, picked him up and put him down on the central reservation.
Giving evidence on the fourth day of the inquest, he said he tried to stop other cars to help, but none pulled over. He immediately dialled 999. "The next morning, it came to my knowledge that Mr Connor had passed away," Mr Murtaza told the jury. "It was quite tough. I was quite traumatised. I did not sleep for weeks. This whole thing has changed my life.
"When I saw him, I was shocked and panicked. I did not know what to do." He said he cried 'for hours' after the incident, but was praised for what he did in the aftermath by the jury and coroner Peter Sigee. The inquest heard his car was fully roadworthy.
The coroner determined not to make a Report to Prevent Future Deaths. “The jury does not consider that the decision to de-arrest Mr Connor in the place and circumstances in which he was de-arrested as an appropriate, correct or safe decision,” Mr Sigee told the court.
“I hear that factual finding clearly but I need to make decisions as to whether there is an ongoing risk to life as at today’s date.”
The court heard evidence from Greater Manchester Police has ‘introduced, published and implemented a new de-arrest’ policy. Mr Sigee said he was ‘satisfied’ that the new policy is ‘appropriate’ and a Report to Prevent Future Deaths is not necessary as a result.