The family of
Julian Cole, who was
left paralysed with a broken neck and damage to his spinal cord, which caused brain damage following an encounter with officers from Bedfordshire Police have now agreed a
£1.2m settlement with that police force, whose officers lied about the incident.
The then 19-year-old University of Bedfordshire first-year sports science undergraduate student had been trying to get back into Elements nightclub in Bedford after being refused a refund when he was ejected.
During one attempt to enter the nightclub,
Julian Cole was "taken to the ground" by a bouncer, before standing back up. He was then "taken to the ground" by
PCs Nicholas Oates,
Sanjeev Kalyan and
Hannah Ross before being handcuffed with "his face down on the ground".
PCs Nicholas Oates,
Sanjeev Kalyan and
Hannah Ross lifted him from the ground, and he was taken via a police van to the police station.
At the High Court in London, Mr Justice Martin Spencer said
he had "no hesitation whatever" in approving the settlement.
"The matter was compounded by a concerted attempt on behalf of the police officers involved to falsify their account of events," he said.
(Source: as stated in image)
Julian Cole before his 6 May 2013 encounter with Bedfordshire Police.
(Source: as stated in image)
Julian Cole after his 6 May 2013 encounter with Bedfordshire Police.
Bedfordshire Police to pay £1.2m over nightclub arrest that left teenager Julian Cole paralysed
In October 2018,
PCs Nicholas Oates,
Sanjeev Kalyan and
Hannah Ross were each
dismissed after being found guilty of gross misconduct by a misconduct panel. The officers were found to have lied in statements about
Julian Cole's condition during his arrest. They had failed to ask "basic questions" to check his welfare during arrest, and he needed CPR at the police station, the hearing was told.
The panel found that
PC Hannah Ross "made up her account" of
Julian Cole moving his legs in an "attempt to demonstrate she had taken
Julian Cole's report of neck pain seriously when she had not".
The hearing was also told that
PC Sanjeev Kalyan tried to "shift responsibility" over what happened to
Julian Cole.
He was found to have lied in his statement when he stated that he had heard
PC Hannah Ross ask
Julian Cole if he could move his legs, and that he moved them in response.
PCs Nicholas Oates,
Sanjeev Kalyan and
Hannah Ross had claimed that
Julian Cole had been able to walk into the police van, but CCTV showed that he had to be carried, with his legs dragging on the ground and head hanging down, having sustained severe injuries including damage to his spinal cord and subsequent hypoxic brain injury, from which he did not recover.
The panel also said that
Sergeant Andrew Withey failed to make "any enquiry" when
PC Hannah Ross asked whether
Julian Cole should go directly to hospital or custody, and failed to "react" to hearing
Julian Cole say his neck hurt.
Sergeant Andrew Withey was given a
final written warning after being found
guilty of misconduct.
The PCs were found to have breached standards of honesty, while all four were found by the misconduct panel to have breached standards of duties and responsibilities.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct referred its findings of Its earlier investigation to the The Crown Prosecution Service, which decided that no criminal conduct had occurred.
No police officer has faced criminal proceedings as a result of the catastrophic injuries sustained by
Julian Cole.
Bedfordshire Police has
not accepted liability in the settlement.