Man’s death is deemed ‘accidental’ by inquest
AMAN who died after being hit by a tipper truck had moments earlier ‘jumped a railing’ into the road when a police community support officer shouted his name, an inquest heard.
Thomas Grogan, 52, died in Rochdale town centre on February 12, last year.
Following his death the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC) launched an investigation into Greater Manchester Police’s handling of the incident.
It found police had earlier told Mr Grogan he ‘may be connected’ to an attempted shoplifting at a market stall in the nearby Exchange shopping centre.
Three hours later a police community support officer, seeing Mr Grogan sat down in an underpass near St Mary’s Gate, shouted his name.
Mr Grogan then ‘jumped a railing’ into the road and was hit by DAF tipper truck near the traffic lights on the corner of Spotland Road.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An inquest has recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
And the IOPC has also published the results of its investigation.
Having taken statements from all of the PCSOs involved and members of the public who witnessed the incident and viewed CCTV, police body-worn video, and dash-cam footage, investigators found Mr Grogan wasn’t being chased by officers, who were a ‘significant distance away’ at the time and described his contact with police as ‘minimal’.
IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe said: “The death of Mr Grogan appears to be a very sad accident.
“Our thoughts remain with his family and friends and all those directly affected by this incident.
“The evidence we gathered clearly indicates that the contact GMP had with Mr Grogan that day was minimal. Sadly it appears that Mr Grogan’s decision to cross the road led to his death.
“We didn’t find any evidence that the conduct of any of the PCSOs involved was of concern, and they were all treated as witnesses throughout our investigation.” ●●Police close off the scene after the death of Thomas Grogan, 52, who ‘jumped a railing’ and was hit by a DAF tipper truck