‘He wasn’t fighting for breath’ - officer who held down raider

GIVING EVIDENCE AT INQUEST, POLICEMEN SAYS HE FEARED THE CROWD ‘MAY GO OVER THE TOP’

AN off-duty police officer who helped to pin down an armed robber - who later died because of an inability to breathe - has told an inquest he continuously checked that the detained man was not in difficulty.

The officer, who is not being identified, told a jury yesterday that he had stopped one member of the public holding Shane Bryant in a headlock, and another from standing on his face, because he was concerned about his welfare.

He also said he had punched Mr Bryant to “distract him” so he would stop struggling.

The officer was among eight men who were in The Tap pub in Market Street, Ashby, at about 10pm on Thursday, July 13, 2017, when they spotted a suspicious car outside the Co-op across the street, and went over to find two armed men inside the shop. The getaway driver and another man escaped, but Mr Bryant, 29, was pinned down by the men from the pub.

Speaking at the inquest at Loughborough Town Hall, the officer said he was “concerned” by a crowd shouting and swearing at Mr Bryant, who was from Birmingham.

He also said that Mr Bryant was still alive, and struggling to get free, when uniformed officers arrived at the scene.

The inquest heard yesterday that when the additional officers were on the scene, paramedics, who had also been summoned, were called over to check on Mr Bryant, who was unresponsive. He was given CPR but never regained consciousness. Mr Bryant was pronounced dead later at the Queen’s Medical Centre, in Nottingham.

Coroner Michael Auty QC told the jury that an investigation by pathologists found that the cause of death was Mr Bryant’s inability to breathe – either caused by his chest being compressed or his mouth and nose being blocked.

‘STRUGGLING VIOLENTLY’

Yesterday, on the second day of the inquest into Mr Bryant’s death, the officer described how he and others from the pub grabbed Mr Bryant as he tried to flee.

He said: “People were grabbing hold of him. He was struggling violently to escape from us. He was a very strong man.

“One member of the public had him in a headlock and I was concerned by that – it would restrict Mr Bryant’s breathing. I was wary of the crowd building up – lots of people were very vocal, shouting, swearing, angry about what he had done.”

When coroner Mr Auty asked him why he was concerned about the crowd, he replied: “They may go over the top.”

He added: “I was concerned they could come over and harm him – we had control of him and didn’t need anyone else’s help.”

He said he and three other men had Mr Bryant pinned to the ground and he ordered the other man to release the headlock. Another member of the public put his foot down on Mr Bryant’s face and the officer said he pushed him away. He said he had hold of Mr Bryant’s arm and had a knee on his shoulder blade, but he said he was continuously checking that Mr Bryant was not in difficulty.

“I was able to see he was breathing normally and wasn’t fighting for breath. I told him I was a police officer. I asked him numerous times to stop struggling.”

The coroner asked him if he considered trying to get Mr Bryant – who was restrained on his stomach for about 17 minutes – into a different position. He replied: “He never calmed down enough.”

‘MENTAL STUNNING’

The officer said he punched Mr Bryant once during the struggle. He said: “I sensed I was losing my grip on his hand. He had gloves on and my hands were getting hot and sweaty. I punched his head – just once. It was to distract him – a mental stunning so he would stop resisting slightly.”

He said at that point one member of the public accused him of “beating up” Mr Bryant.

The inquest has heard the off-duty officer and the other three men – who included a retired West Midlands officer – held on to Mr Bryant for 17 minutes and 12 seconds before the police arrived.

The officer told the inquest the nearest open police station was in Loughborough and there were roadworks on the route so he had expected a long wait for help. He said Mr Bryant was still struggling when the on-duty police arrived. He said he was given a uniformed officer’s handcuffs and he and the retired officer struggled to get Mr Bryant in the cuffs.

The off-duty officer recommended the police who had arrived put straps around Mr Bryant’s legs. He said: “The people restraining his legs said he was still kicking so I asked the officer to use fast straps - they wrap around the legs and strap the two legs together.”

Moments later, Mr Bryant became unresponsive and police called over paramedics. The off-duty officer returned to Mr Bryant and did chest compressions to try to revive him before he was taken hospital.

The officer said he found out two days later that Mr Bryant had died.

The inquest continues.