I CANNOT BREATHE
WORDS OF DAD RESTRAINED BY METROLINK-CONTRACTED STAFF AS CORONER RULES HE WAS UNLAWFULLY KILLED
A YOUNG dad who died after being restrained by Metrolinkcontracted staff in Manchester city centre was unlawfully killed, a coroner has concluded.
Jack Barnes, 29, repeatedly said ‘I can’t breathe’ and ‘let me breathe’ as he was pinned down on his front after he had become involved in an altercation where he allegedly flung a drawstring bag and hit one of the staff.
On October 11, 2016, while being restrained outside Australasia restaurant on Deansgate, the dadof-one suffered a cardiac arrest.
Transferred to hospital, he died seven weeks later having suffered a hypoxic ischaemic brain injury, caused by a lack of blood flow or oxygen.
At an inquest at Manchester Royal Exchange, senior coroner Nigel Meadows concluded the four men who took part in the restraint process acted with ‘excessive’ and ‘unreasonable’ force.
He said they were ‘overstimulated,’ ‘losing self-control’ and were ‘getting carried away with the bravado of the chase.’
Their actions amounted to the unlawful killing of Mr Barnes, Mr Meadows said.
At around 8.15pm, the group were spotted by Metrolink customer service representative (CSR) Stephen Hedges. They were smoking what he believed to be illicit drugs, the court heard.
At around 11.30pm, Mr Barnes and the other men were seen at
Manchester Victoria station.
The court heard Mr Hedges was joined by Stephen Rowlands and Matt Sellars, who had been supplied to Metrolink by company Palladium Associates.
The men had received limited training, which included a ‘walk away’ policy – meaning they should phone police if faced with the threat of violence.
The inquest heard Mr Barnes became aggressive towards staff. He allegedly swung his drawstring bag towards them, hitting Mr Hedges.
One member of the group was detained on the floor, while Mr Barnes and pal Mr Craig Nevitt, 22, ran away, the court heard.
Mr Rowlands, Mr Sellars and two other Metrolink-contracted representatives – Brian Gartside and Paul Fogarty – chased them until they arrived at Australasia. Mr Meadows said all four men breached the company’s ‘walk away’ policy when they made the decision to pursue Mr Barnes and Mr Nevitt and restrain them without informing police.
Mr Meadows said at that point, the four – Mr Gartside, Mr Rowlands, Mr Sellars and Mr Fogarty – were ‘overstimulated,’ ‘losing self control’ and ‘getting carried away with the bravado of the chase.’
The court heard none of the four had received any training in restraining people for their roles.
Bodycam footage from a device worn by Mr Sellars indicated that once Mr Barnes was placed in the prone position, he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.
At one point, Mr Barnes said:
“Help me breathe. Please, just help me breathe.”
He continued: “Can I just put my arm forward?”
Mr Sellars replied: “No, no, no. You used a weapon on a member of staff. Your hand ain’t going anywhere. Do you understand?”
Mr Rowlands eventually noticed Mr Barnes had gone quiet.
Mr Sellars said he believed Mr Barnes had been lying on his chest for around six to seven minutes.
Bodycam footage appeared to show Mr Gartside asking Mr Nevitt, who had also been restrained, if Mr Barnes had taken any drugs.
An ambulance was flagged down by the group and paramedics attended to Mr Barnes.
He was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where he stayed until November 17.
He was later transferred to a hospital in Hull, where his condition continued to deteriorate until he died on December 2.
Cardiologist Dr Stephen Saltissi said he believed Mr Barnes had suffered a cardiac arrest ‘while undergoing prone restraint.’
He said: “Cardiac arrest occurred when he was being restrained by Mr Fogarty and Mr Rowlands and he repeatedly said ‘I’m breathless.’”
Mr Meadows concluded Mr Barnes died from bronchopneumonia, caused by hypoxic brain injury following a cardiac arrest.
He said Mr Gartside’s and Mr Sellars’ use of force was ‘excessive’ and ‘unreasonable.’
“Mr Rowlands and Mr Fogarty’s actions were unlawful and deliberate. Jack was killed by unlawful act manslaughter by one person or joint enterprise,” he said.
Jack was killed by unlawful act manslaughter Senior coroner Nigel Meadows