The heartbroken mum of a former soldier who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when he died after an incident which saw him Tasered by police has told of how she will "never find closure" after being left unsatisfied by the outcome of an inquest into his death.
Margaret Beynon has opened up on her thoughts about the hearing which examined the circumstances behind the death of her son Spencer Beynon, near his home in Llanelli in 2016, after officers had been called to reports of a man in distress. The inquest heard how police arrived at the 43-year-old's address at Maes y Bwlch and found him covered in blood - as he had slashed himself in the neck with a broken bottle. Mr Beynon, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan before being discharged after suffering PTSD, had moved towards an officer - which was perceived as a threat. He was then Tasered by former PC Oliver West, WalesOnline reports.
His inquest concluded that he died as result of misadventure. Following the end of the coroner-led probe, The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) also published details about its investigation into Mr Beynon's death - saying it found no case to answer for misconduct against any Dyfed-Powys Police officer in relation to their interaction with Mr Beynon.
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Mrs Beynon said: "I'm horrified at the conclusion. I felt the questions we wanted asked were never asked. We feel we have so many unanswered questions as a family. We can't come to terms with the way it's been left. No, I don't want another inquest, I want my son to rest in peace, but we don't feel we have had justice.
"Waiting all this time for the inquest to come to a conclusion has been horrendous. We've had six inquests. There were four or five pre inquests. Our lives are destroyed. Spencer is the first thing on my mind in the morning, all through the day, and the last thing on my mind at night. I always say goodnight to him. It's gone so bad, I don't want to talk to people. I'm at the grave all the time. If Spencer had died in Afghanistan, maybe I could have lived with it, and we would always miss him, but the way in which he died was horrendous.
"He was a soldier who was so brave, and those who served with him have said they would walk over hot coals to follow him. To think he was shot [Tasered] on the streets of Llanelli. The last thing he saw when he died was a gun [Taser].
"I'll never make peace with it. To lose a child is the worst thing in the world, but to lose him in that way. It's terrible. It has broken a part of me. We're just not the same people anymore. It's gone on for seven years. It has taken its toll on this family without a shadow of a doubt."
At the inquest into Mr Beynon's death Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire's acting senior coroner, Paul Bennett, had asked the jury to consider if it was reasonable for PC West to use the Taser, but not whether its use had contributed to Mr Beynon's death.
On Friday, November 11, the jury found by a majority of 10 to one that it was reasonable as Mr Beynon had moved towards the officer who perceived that action as a threat. A pathologist had earlier told the inquest he had found no evidence the use of a Taser caused Mr Beynon to have a cardiac arrest. Jurors were told an examination of Mr Beynon's body found a partially severed jugular vein in a wound on his neck. The inquest heard he died from neck injuries and blood loss.
As well as the inquest, the IOPC carried out an investigation into the handling of a phone call from Mr Beynon's father to Dyfed-Powys Police that morning which expressed concern for his son’s welfare. The IOPC's probe found that "officers faced a dynamic situation" that evening when responding to calls about a man, later identified as Mr Beynon, having smashed a window and acting erratically in the street.
A spokesman said: "The police officer who Tasered Mr Beynon said he did so for his own safety, and the safety of other officers and members of the public. It was noted that there were varying eye-witness accounts as to whether Mr Beynon was moving and the extent of any movement immediately before the Taser discharge. The investigation found that the officer's stated belief that Mr Beynon was moving towards him was both genuinely held and reasonable in the circumstances. The investigation found that there was insufficient evidence to bring any disciplinary proceedings against the officer."
The investigation did conclude that the call could have been given a higher response grading than "scheduled," and that more information could have been logged on police systems. After liaison with Dyfed-Powys Police, it was agreed there was insufficient evidence to bring any disciplinary proceedings against the call handler, who is now retired and had received a detailed debrief from Dyfed-Powys Police regarding their handling of the incident.
Mr Beynon had a daughter, Tori, and son Jacob. He had served as a sergeant in the 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh. In all he served for 15 years in the forces, in Hong Kong, and Northern Ireland, helping to build a school in Jamaica, part of the United Nations Honour Guard, in South Korea, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and was a British Army advisor on terrorism to the Australian army.
He was also a drill instructor in charge of Canadian armed forces. He was comrades with the late Ryan Francis, who died in a roadside bombing in Iraq in 2007.
The former St Michael's and Bryngwyn School pupil had a love of boxing, was a cross country runner and had also played rugby for Felinfoel as a youngster. Growing up, Spencer wanted to follow his dad and grandfather and go into the military, and Mrs Beynon recalled how the family were once stopped at customs for having ten plastic toy guns in their luggage.
Back in July, 2015, it was reported in his local newspaper- the Llanelli Star - how he had decided to put together a group to patrol the parks around the area, to ensure children were going home at a reasonable and safe hour during the long end of term holiday.
Mrs Beynon wished to make it clear that her family did not intend to take civil action against Dyfed-Powys Police. She also said they were unsatisfied with the misadventure conclusion.
She added: "We as his family will never get over the loss of our brave son. We now have to live with this decision. We have not had the justice that we've prayed for, but pray our beloved son can now rest in peace."
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