Tearful Police Interceptor star who hit prolific criminal, 19, as he jumped out of moving car tells boy’s parents he did ‘not have time to react’ as inquest rules father-of-one’s death was misadventure
- PC Paul Jackson ran over Kelvin Bainbridge after the teen leapt from his car
- The 19-year-old was being chased by the Police Interceptor star in October 2019
- PC Jackson issued a tearful apology to the teen’s parents during the inquest
A Police Interceptor star who ran over and killed a wanted criminal who leapt from their car during a tragic chase has issued a tearful apology to the teen’s parents.
PC Paul Jackson, who stars in the Channel 5 documentary series, had ‘no time to react’ when disqualified driver Kelvin Bainbridge unexpectedly got out of his moving vehicle, an inquest heard.
Mr Bainbridge, 19, was one of County Durham’s most wanted criminals when he was spotted behind the wheel of a Nissan Primera in October 2019, with four passengers including his mother and his pregnant partner.
He died after a six-minute pursuit through Spennymoor when he tried to exit the car while it was still moving, and suffered blunt head injury when he was struck by the front valance panel of a marked police BMW driven by PC Jackson – known as ‘Jacko’.
An inquest ruled the father-to-be’s death was one of misadventure. Speaking to Mr Bainbridge’s parents, Troy and Suzanne, in court, a tearful PC Jackson said: ‘I’m sorry Suzanne, Troy, I never went out of my way to hurt him, I just wanted to arrest him.’
PC Paul Jackson (pictured), who stars in the Channel 5 documentary series, had ‘no time to react’ when disqualified driver Kelvin Bainbridge unexpectedly got out of his moving vehicle
Mr Bainbridge (pictured), 19, died after a six-minute pursuit through Spennymoor when he tried to exit the car while it was still moving, and suffered blunt head injury when he was struck by the front valance panel of a marked police BMW driven by PC Jackson
During the two-week inquest, the jury heard the cop, described by a colleague as a hard-working and ‘proactive’ officer who looked to catch criminals at large, had brought his vehicle to the side of the Primera, aiming to block off an alleyway.
But tragically Mr Bainbridge stumbled as he got out of the Primera and went under PC Jackson’s car, suffering fatal injuries.
The officer was asked by Jamie Burton KC, for the family, if the decision to mount the kerb alongside the Primera was ‘highly dangerous’, as it was ‘all but inevitable’ that his vehicle would hit Mr Bainbridge if he tried to flee.
PC Jackson addressed Mr Bainbridge’s parents, and said: ‘I had no idea he would jump out of a moving car.
‘In my mind’s eye, I had closed off the most likely escape route.
‘I wanted Kelvin Bainbridge to get out of the car and think “s***, that way is closed” and slow him down.’
PC Jackson was a qualified police driver and armed response officer who had carried out hundreds of pursuits, and no one had previously been injured, the inquest heard.
He said: ‘It’s a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach, all you want them to do is stop… You are constantly thinking, “do I stop, do I keep going?”.’
Kelvin Bainbridge jumped out of the Nissan Primera he was driving while it was still moving
Kelvin Bainbridge, 19, was hit by a police vehicle in Spennymoor, County Durham, at about 2.30pm on October 18 2019
He said, having watched footage of the pursuit again, his decision-making was correct, although ‘it went awfully wrong’.
READ MORE: Mother screamed at her 19-year-old son to slow down moments before his death as he bailed out of the car he was driving and was struck by police vehicle during pursuit, inquest hears
Since the incident four years ago, he has not been involved in any more pursuits. He no longer has a public-facing role and now trains recruits.
The court heard before the tragedy happened. Mr Bainbridge had taken his partner for her 20-week scan at hospital and they were ‘ecstatic’ to find out they were due to have a boy.
His mother said she screamed at him to stop during the police pursuit, which happened as they were heading back to Spennymoor, explaining to the jury she told him: ‘You will end up killing all of us in the car.’
Mrs Bainbridge said her son did not want to go back to prison, and told jurors: ‘This was the last words he said to me, ‘I’m going to go to jail for this’.’
Durham Police had designated him as a ‘sector target’, meaning he was a known criminal in the area, and a person of interest to them.
He was wanted for burglary offences, had been before the courts 16 times, was convicted of 45 offences and had served six months in jail for grievous bodily harm.
Collision investigator Robin Turner told the inquest he had studied police in-car video footage as well as detailed technical data recordings of the vehicle’s movements.
He said Mr Bainbridge appeared to begin exiting the Nissan 1.2 seconds before the collision, and he was fully out around 0.92 seconds before.
Mr Turner told the inquest: ‘(PC Jackson) did not have enough time to react to stop this happening.’
PC Jackson didn’t have enough time to react, an inquest heard. Pictured is Mr Bainbridge
The jury sitting at Crook, County Durham, accepted the decision to pursue Mr Bainbridge and to continue the operation was correct, and was motivated to protect the public.
The jury concluded: ‘It is therefore determined that the death was caused by the misadventure of the deceased due to exiting a moving vehicle.’
Senior assistant coroner Crispin Oliver said ‘I wish you well in the future’ to the Bainbridge family and the police officers involved in the case.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) – which concluded its investigation into the tragedy in 2020, found there was no case to answer for PC Jackson.
Offering her condolences to Mr Bainbridge’s family, IOPC regional director Emily Barry said: ‘Our thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of Mr Bainbridge, as well as those affected by his death.
‘We carried out a thorough investigation, independently of the police, to help understand the tragic events of that day.
‘Evidence gathered by IOPC investigators was shared with the coroner to inform the inquest.’
She said that national pursuit training did not cover situations where a driver attempted to escape on foot.
Using a police car to block a potential escape route was not an expressly authorised tactic, there was no guidance or training preventing a police driver from doing so, she said.
Durham Constabulary said the ‘tragic incident’ had been ‘independently examined’ by the police watch dog
A spokesman for the force added: ‘As the public would rightly expect, Durham Constabulary thoroughly examines the circumstances surrounding any incident involving loss of life to determine whether there is anything we can learn or further improve.’
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