Family handoutPolice officers behaved “appropriately” when they briefly followed a 15-year-old boy on an e-bike before he fatally collided with an ambulance, a report has found.
Saul Cookson was riding a Sur-Ron e-bike in Salford, Greater Manchester, when the incident took place at about 14:00 BST on 8 June, 2023.
He was treated by paramedics at the scene, but suffered multiple traumatic injuries from the collision in Langworthy Road and died in hospital shortly after.
An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers “acted appropriately and in line with procedures”.
The investigation was launched after the IOPC received a mandatory referral from GMP.
On Thursday, an inquest jury at Bolton Coroner’s Court concluded the two officers in a patrol car had not engaged in a pursuit of the youngster.
The officers followed Saul for a short period until he went through a set of bollards and then hit the moving ambulance.
The IOPC’s probe found that the police being there might have made a difference to how Saul was riding, but that there was nothing to justify criminal action against officers.
The police watchdog said the contact with Saul was lasted only 25 seconds from when officers first saw the e-bike to when it collided with the ambulance.
The first opportunity the ambulance driver would have had to see Saul was 0.6 seconds prior to the collision, added the IOPC.
‘Much-loved son’
IOPC regional director Catherine Bates said: “Any death on our roads is a tragedy and sadly in this instance a boy has lost his life and our thoughts remain with his family, friends and all those affected.”
She said the IOPC’s independent investigation aimed to understand events leading up to the collision.
“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,” she added.
Following his death, Saul’s mother Emma Frendo paid tribute to a “much-loved son, brother, grandson, and nephew” and said he was “the sweetest, most kindest boy ever”.