Conclusion of inquest into death of Shane Bryant

Today (Tuesday 26 October) a three week inquest concluded following the death of 29-year-old Shane Bryant following an incident in July 2017. 

The Deputy Chief Constable Rob Nixon said: "The past four years have no doubt been an extremely distressing time for the family and friends of Mr Bryant and my thoughts and sympathies remain with them at this time.

"It has also, no doubt, been an extremely distressing time for all those who were involved in the incident on the evening of 13 July 2017. My thoughts are also with them.

"Over the past three weeks, the inquest has heard from officers and members of the public who were trying to do the right thing when unexpectedly faced with an extremely terrifying situation. I would like to thank them for participating in this inquest which has been an extremely complex, difficult and sensitive hearing.

"Today’s conclusion has determined that whilst much of the force which was used on Mr Bryant was reasonable there were some aspects which were not. No more clarity has been provided as to which those aspects were.

"The conclusion has also highlighted that there were some missed opportunities in the management of this incident by one of our officers who had intervened when off duty, and that some of those missed opportunities contributed to Mr Bryant’s death.

"We know this was an extremely challenging situation for this, or any, officer to find himself in. We continue to give the officer all possible support. We will now consider our response to this finding and the next steps that we take. We will remain in contact with Mr Bryant’s family and other organisations involved as we progress with this."