Woman’s contact with police before she sustained serious injuries - Greater Manchester Police, June 2018

On 1 June 2018 Greater Manchester Police received a call reporting a woman standing on the wrong side of the barrier on a bridge over the M56 motorway. Police attended the scene and tried to engage with the woman. Approximately 15 minutes after the police arrived, the woman jumped from the bridge. She sustained serious injuries as a result.

Our investigators met with the injured woman and reviewed body-worn video footage of the officers who attended the incident. They also listened to the radio transmissions and phone calls to the police, obtained witness statements and reviewed Greater Manchester Police’s guidance on the engagement of negotiators.

The body-worn video footage showed that the officers attempted to engage with the woman and bring her to safety for approximately 15 minutes, before she jumped and sustained her serious injuries.

Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.

We completed our investigation in January 2019.