The family of a man who died after police dropped him off at a tram stop miles from home has said he was failed “massively” by authorities.
Benjamin Connor, 30, from Warrington, Cheshire, was left at a Metrolink stop near Old Trafford, Manchester, where he was “unsafely” de-arrested by police in the early hours without his phone, money or bank cards, his family said.
Hours later, the father of four was struck by a taxi almost two miles away on the M602 in Salford and died in hospital. Eyewitnesses conveyed seeing him walk into oncoming traffic, according to the Manchester Evening News.
An inquest jury ruled he died as a consequence of a road traffic collision contributed to by negligence on the part of police.
Billie-Jo Connor, Mr Connor’s sister, said Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had a duty of care towards her brother that night but “unfortunately failed to care”.
She said: “Ben was such a character. He was the biggest wind-up on the Earth, with the funniest and most bubbliest personality. Anyone that had the pleasure of knowing him will know that.
“He was such a laugh to be around and if he wasn’t annoying you, there was definitely something wrong. But he also would have done absolutely anything for anyone and had a heart of pure gold.”
Ms Connor added that her sibling’s four children meant the world to him and he was always talking about them. She continued: “They were always on his mind. They were the light of his life and are definitely what kept him going. Not only was Ben a daddy, but he was also the most amazing brother, uncle, son and friend to many.”
Police had been summoned to a flat in the Rusholme region of the city on December 27, 2021, where the owner told officers Mr Connor needed mental health support.
The property owner told the inquest Mr Connor had threatened him with a knife and smashed a plate. Jurors at the inquest heard Mr Connor gave police an address north of the city, but officers released him at Cornbrook Metrolink stop at approximately 1 am on December 28.
Ms Connor explained her brother was meant to have been removed from the flat for breach of the peace and he had been told he would be taken to the address he had given police.
She said Mr Connor was under the impression he was going to the address he’d given the police officers, but instead was “unsafely de-arrested” at the tram station at gone 1 am in the morning with no phone, no money, no bank cards and no way of getting anywhere.
These police should be penalised for treating him so poorly. Their job is to keep us safe. This should be a wake-up call and they should start caring about the citizens they’re employed to protect.
To be sure he was safe, they might have at least called a family member to come get him and stayed with him until they got there.
They arrested him from a residence with no money or phone and dropped him off miles from where he lived.
Dropping someone off miles from where they live with no money or phone is disgusting, and this should have been a fireable crime for these policemen – just criminal negligence.
They might not be a taxi service, but they do have a duty of care.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 