Police officers behaved “appropriately” when they briefly followed a 15-year-old boy on an e-bike before he fatally collided with an ambulance, a report has found.
Saul Cookson was riding a Sur-Ron e-bike in Salford, Greater Manchester, when the incident took place at about 2pm on June 8 2023.
The 15-year-old was treated by paramedics at the scene, but suffered multiple traumatic injuries from the collision in Langworthy Road and died in hospital shortly after.
On Thursday 9 January, an inquest jury at Bolton Coroner’s Court concluded the two officers in a patrol car had not engaged in a pursuit of the 15-year-old.
The officers followed Saul for a short period until he slipped past a set of bollards and went on to hit the moving ambulance.
During the inquest the HM Area Coroner Michael Pemberton displayed concern for the lack of awareness around the bollards off Lower Seedley Road, which lead directly onto a busy main road.
The HM Coroner indicated his intention to write a letter to the council addressing this issue.
Following his death, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after receiving a mandatory referral from Greater Manchester Police.
The investigation found that although the police presence may have affected the manner of Saul’s riding, there was no indication any officer had behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or had committed a criminal offence.
The IOPC said that the extent of the police contact with Saul was brief and lasted approximately 25 seconds from when officers first saw the e-bike to when it collided with the ambulance.
The first opportunity the ambulance driver would have had to see Saul was 0.6 seconds prior to the collision.
As the jury heard that the collision was ‘unavoidable’, and that the paramedics in the ambulance immediately came to Saul’s aid once the crash occurred.
OPC regional director Catherine Bates said: “Any death on our roads is a tragedy and sadly in this instance a boy has lost his life and our thoughts remain with his family, friends and all those affected.
“Our investigation was independent of the police and aimed to understand events leading up to the collision. We found the officers acted appropriately and in line with procedures.
“The evidence we gathered was provided to the coroner to assist with the inquest proceedings, which we hope has helped answer some of the families’ questions about that day.”
Following his death, Saul’s mother Emma Frendo paid tribute to a “much-loved son, brother, grandson, and nephew” and that he was “the sweetest, most kindest boy ever.”
Recent Comments