Police failings during a 130mph chase involving a stolen BMW did not cause the death of two drivers, an inquest has ruled. The pursuit ended in a double-fatal crash after the fleeing teenage driver headed the wrong way down the motorway and smashed into another car.
Brandon Pryde, also known as Brandon Geasley, was chased by police on the night of May 27, 2021, hitting high speeds on the M60 motorway as he and the pursuing police officer, PC Jennifer Barrow, passed innocent pensioner David Faulker, 77. Mr Geasley then exited the anti-clockwise carriageway at junction 27, before going round the roundabout and heading back onto the motorway, this time travelling in the wrong direction.
He headed down the outside lane, narrowly avoiding smashing into a police car driving towards the pursuit, before moving into the inside lane where he was involved in a head-on collision with Mr Faulkner as both men attempted to move into the middle lane to avoid each other. Both Mr Geasley and Mr Faulkner sustained serious injuries in the crash, and both men tragically died at the scene.
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Now, an inquest into Mr Faulkner's death has ruled that procedural failings identified during this inquest, and a previous inquest into Mr Geasley's death held last week, were not the cause of either death. Althought, assistant coroner Adrian Farrow was "concerned" about how this "lamentable lapse" may have played out if the circumstances were slightly different. Mr Farrow said: "Whilst I have found [the failing] did not contribute to Mr Faulkner's death, the circumstances may have developed in a different way and the absence of control room supervision could have been a factor."
He determined that there was a failure between North West Motorway Policing Group (NWMPG) and Greater Manchester Police's control rooms in relation to who was in "command and control" of a pursuit. It is understood that when a pursuit is on the motorway it is controlled by NWMPG and when it is off the motorway but within Greater Manchester it's controlled by GMP. Any transfer should be acknowledged by the supervisor to assert that they have taken control
On this occasion, a supervisor for the GMP control room "assumed" NWMPG has taken control of the pursuit, whilst the other force was still in the process of taking control of the incident. This left the pursuit without a control room in charge of the chase, which could have caused a greater risk to those involved as the control room have the authority to discontinue a pursuit if it's deemed too dangerous.
The court heard that Mr Geasley travelled around 550m down the wrong side of the carriageway, taking approximately 16 seconds which puts his average speed at 80mph. Due to the speed of both vehicles, and a slight bend in the carriageway, reconstruction experts believe both cars came into view of each other around 200m apart, with a closing speed of around 150mph, leaving neither driver with enough time to avoid the collision.
Evidence shows that both cars had made attempts to leave the inside lane, and move towards the middle lane, with the impact site centred around the driver's side of each vehicle. Mr Geasley's car was then flung into the hard shoulder of the opposite carriageway, whilst Mr Faulkner's car spun and came to rest facing the metal barrier. The impact of the collision was "huge", with both vehicles "damaged beyond repair".
Amy Rollings-Grant, the barrister for Mr Faulkner's family, raised six concerns with the coroner to assist him with a conclusion over whether Mr Faulkner's right to life was breached by the actions of police that evening. These included the circumstances leading up to the collision, the "inherently dangerous" nature of the spontaneous pursuit and whether the decision to chase the car was adequate, whether the pursuit should have continued when the car entered the motorway, whether the dynamic risk assessments during the chase were adequate, whether the advice to bring the pursuit to an end was adequate, and whether the police actions amounted to a real risk to life.
Although Mr Farrow did not believe that any police failings led to Mr Faulkner's death, he decided that there was a procedural failing in the police's framework for chases, and it was necessary for him to make a prevention of future deaths report to minimise the risk to other road users in the future.
He added: "I heard a moving tribute to Mr Faulkner from his son Anthony, he was described as 'one of the good guys' and he was plainly loved and cherished by this family and many friends.
"It is a testament to the high regard he was held that a charity concert in his memory raised £5,000"
Mr Farrow reached a narrative conclusion that Mr Faulkner's death was caused by: "A road traffic collision in which his car was struck by a car which was being driven at speed on the wrong carriageway of the motorway."
After the conclusion, Chief Superintendent Mark Dexter, of GMP’s Specialist Operations Branch, said: “Firstly, and most importantly, I wish to extend my sympathies and condolences to both the families of Mr Faulkner and Mr Geasley whose lives were so prematurely lost that night. We acknowledge the findings of the coroner – as well as the IOPC - that our officers acted professionally and were justified in their decision making on the night. We have a significant number of pursuits in Greater Manchester and have officers specially-trained to undertake them to reduce the risks involved.
"Thankfully very few result in serious injury but we know only too well that, regrettably, it can happen. Being involved in an incident where life is lost is the worst part of policing that every officer dreads; all of our people do their utmost to balance the risks involved in catching suspects who we know - without policing intervention - could go on to commit serious crime and harm to the public. Balancing those risks is a challenge for our officers on a daily basis and it is a responsibility that we continue to take very seriously.”
An IOPC investigation was carried out after the crash, with investigators determining that officers "acted in accordance with local and national policies". Regional Director Catherine Bates said: “This was a tragic incident in which two men have lost their lives as a result of this collision. Our thoughts are with their families, friends and all those affected at this time. Our investigation was independent of the police and aimed to understand events leading up to the collision.
"We found the officers acted appropriately and in line with procedures. The evidence we gathered was provided to the coroner to assist with the inquest proceedings, which we hope has helped answer some of the families’ questions about that day.”
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