‘I AM HEARTBROKEN BECAUSE I FEEL I HAVEN’T GOT JUSTICE FOR CHRIS...’
Mum of man who died in citizen’s arrest ‘appalled’ at sentence
THE mum of a man who died after he was pinned down in a citizen’s arrest has branded his killer’s sentence ‘a joke’.
Stafford Crown Court heard how Benjamin Hunt chased 25-year-old Christopher Walters after he had damaged a car with a hammer in Longton in May, 2019.
Hunt, aged 32, then held Mr Walters by the neck, on the ground, for several minutes, using his body weight to pin him down even after Mr Walters, right, lost consciousness.
Now Hunt, of Heathcote Street, Longton, has been jailed for 38 months after admitting manslaughter.
Hunt’s work colleague Jonathan Hassall, who was also involved in the incident, was found hanged just days before he was due to go on trial for manslaughter.
Speaking after the sentencing hearing at Stafford Crown Court on Friday, Mr Walters’ mum Dawn Price said she felt the sentence handed to Hunt was ‘a joke’.
The 58-year-old, from Bentilee, said: “I’m not happy at all, it’s disgusting. It’s one big joke.
“It’s disgraceful and shocking. I don’t think the sentence is long enough. I think it’s absolutely appalling.
“We heard in court that Hunt held my son’s neck down, that’s not a citizen’s arrest. If he had let my son go, the police could have found him if they had given them his description and he would have been charged with criminal damage.
“They said in court that my son had gone limp and lifeless and his defence was that he thought my son was asleep.
“He wouldn’t have just thought I’m going to have a kip while he’s being restrained on the floor. It’s just a big joke.
“In court Hunt wouldn’t look me in the eye. I’m living with a life sentence after losing Chris.
“I’m angry and heartbroken. That court case was a mockery. I don’t feel like I’ve got justice for Chris’s death.
“Everyone gets dealt a pack of cards in life, and I got the joker.
“I can’t put into words how I feel, I’m heartbroken. Nothing will make up for losing Chris because nothing will bring him back.
“Hunt will be out in one and a half years, but I’ve got to live with the loss of my son for the rest of my life. I’m not happy with his sentence at all.” The court heard on Friday that after Mr Walters was detained in Wood Street, the police were called, and officers arrived 19 minutes later. At that point, Hunt was still on top of the unconscious Mr Walters.
A postmortem examination found signs of oxygen deprivation in Mr Walters’ brain, and significant bruising to his neck. The cause of death was given as compression of the neck.
Judge Kristina Montgomery told Hunt that she accepted his claim that his purpose had been to apprehend someone he believed to be an offender. But she said Mr Walters’ death was a consequence of Hunt holding on after it was no longer necessary for him to do so, at which point there was an ‘appreciable risk of causing harm’.
People living close to where the incident took place told The Sentinel that they felt it took the police too long to respond to the incident.
Staffordshire Police have referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. An IOPC spokesman said: “We completed our investigation in October (2019) and will consider releasing our findings when the associated criminal and inquest proceedings have been concluded.”