Investigation concludes following fatal police pursuit in south Manchester

Police officers who pursued a vehicle in Manchester before it was involved in a fatal collision acted in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation concluded.

A second inquest which concluded today (14 July) at Manchester Coroner’s Court, determined David Faulkner, 77, died as a result of a road traffic collision. The first inquest last week concluded Brandon Pryde, 18, known as Brandon Geasley, died as a result of a road traffic collision during a police pursuit.

We received a referral from Greater Manchester Police following the incident on Thursday 27 May 2021 on Altrincham Road towards the Sharston Link.

Our investigation, which concluded in October 2021, found the officers commenced a pursuit after the 18-year-old driver of the BMW failed to stop.

GMP officers saw the BMW, which they believed had been stolen in a burglary earlier that day, and attempted to stop the vehicle. Officers made efforts to catch up with it by activating their emergency equipment, however the vehicle did not stop, and a pursuit began.

The BMW travelled onto the M56 and then the M60 before leaving the motorway at Junction 27. It then drove back onto the M60, travelling on the wrong side of the carriageway in the direction of oncoming traffic.

The BMW was then involved in a collision with a red Vauxhall driven by Mr Faulkner. Sadly, Mr Faulkner and Mr Pryde were pronounced dead at the scene.

Evidence showed that officers risk assessed the pursuit and considered the weather and road conditions, traffic and pedestrian volume, speed, risks to the driver of the BMW and to other road users.

We concluded that while it would be reasonable to suggest that a police presence may have affected the manner of the driving of Mr Pryde, the evidence indicates that officers acted in accordance with local and national policies and their training.

The coroner today concluded that the pursuit was reasonable, and that the balance of risk did not demand discontinuance of the pursuit.

IOPC investigators attended the scene of the collision and the officers involved provided their initial accounts. We gathered statements from independent eye witnesses, analysed CCTV and dashcam footage from the police vehicles involved in the pursuit.

IOPC Regional Director Catherine Bates said: “This was a tragic incident in which two men have lost their lives as a result of this collision. Our thoughts are with their families, friends and all those affected at this time.

“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.”