Fatal Spennymoor police pursuit officer denies vendetta

Kelvin Bainbridge exited a moving car and was struck by the police vehicle pursuing him

The police officer driving a vehicle that fatally struck a man during a pursuit has told an inquest he did not have a "vendetta" against him.

Kelvin Bainbridge, 19, was hit by a marked police vehicle in Spennymoor, County Durham, in October 2019.

PC Paul Jackson told the inquest he had been involved in hundreds of pursuits and just wanted to catch Mr Bainbridge, who was wanted by police.

He also said he thought he made the "right calls" on the day of the crash.

PC Jackson told the inquest in Crook he had received advanced tactical pursuit and containment training from the force and he went on refresher courses every two years.

He said at the time of the incident he was "confident" in his skills and training.

He said he was aware that Kelvin Bainbridge was wanted for a number of burglaries, adding: "He was just a constant."

'Horrible feeling'

Senior Assistant Coroner for County Durham and Darlington, Crispin Oliver, asked the officer whether he had a "vendetta" against Mr Bainbridge.

PC Jackson replied: "I had no vendetta against Kelvin Bainbridge. I never went above and beyond trying to catch him as a person who was wanted."

He explained that police pursuits follow a national decision-making model which uses dynamic risk assessment, adding that he assessed "every risk as it appears".

"You are constantly asking yourself should we keep going, 'what would my grandma expect the police to do in this situation?'," he said.

The officer told the inquest that being involved in pursuits gave him a "horrible feeling" in his stomach.

"All you want them to do is stop. I made all the right calls," PC Jackson said.

He also said that he had not taken part in any pursuits since Mr Banbridge's death.

At the time of his death, Mr Bainbridge was a disqualified driver and was wanted in connection with burglary offences

During the pursuit, Mr Bainbridge jumped from the car he was in and was struck by PC Jackson's vehicle.

Mr Bainbridge had been disqualified from driving at the time and was wanted by the police in connection with burglary offences.

A post-mortem examination found he had died of a blunt head injury and his injuries were consistent with him "almost lying down" when he was struck by the police car.

The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service which, in October 2021, decided not to authorise any further action against the officer involved in the pursuit.

The inquest, which is expected to last up to three weeks, continues.