Caution urged over death of man hit by police car
The police watchdog investigating the death of a pedestrian hit by a police car has said that contrary to social media reports, he was not on a crossing at the time.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is probing events in Birmingham leading up to the vehicle striking the 40-year-old - named on Monday as father-of-two Roger Bagnall.
He was hit on Yardley Road in Acocks Green at about 19:00 GMT on Wednesday by a double-crewed West Midlands Police car on blue lights and with siren activated, the IOPC said.
It stated that while investigations were continuing, it could at this stage also confirm Mr Bagnall was not wearing earphones - and urged the public not to speculate over events.
Doing so, said IOPC director Derek Campbell, could be "unhelpful and cause unnecessary distress".
The IOPC said the police car was responding last week to reports that a man had been seen carrying knives nearby.
Reviews of CCTV had already established some circumstances such as the car being on lights, Mr Campbell stated, thanking members of the public for coming forward with footage, but added inquiries were progressing.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Man hit by police car on 999 call dies
Independent Office for Police Conduct
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
UN demands probe as Israeli forces kill more people near aid site in Gaza
Israeli forces have opened fire again on Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid from a distribution site in Gaza, killing at least three people and injuring more than 30, as the United Nations demands an independent investigation into the repeated mass shootings of aid seekers in the strip. The shooting erupted at sunrise on Monday at the same Israeli-backed aid point in southern Gaza where soldiers had opened fire just a day earlier, according to health officials and witnesses. 'The Israeli military opened fire on civilians trying to get their hands on any kind of food aid without any kind of warning,' Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. 'This is a pattern that's been widely condemned by international aid organisations because it enhances the breakdown of civil order without ensuring humanitarian relief can be received by those desperately in need.' Witnesses said Israeli snipers and quadcopter drones routinely monitor aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the United States. A Red Cross field hospital received about 50 people wounded in the latest shooting, including two who were dead on arrival, said Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Most had been hit by bullets or shrapnel. A third body was taken to Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis. Moataz al-Feirani, 21, said he was shot in the leg while walking with thousands of others towards the food site. 'We had nothing, and they [the Israeli military] were watching us,' he told The Associated Press news agency, adding that surveillance drones circled overhead. The shooting began about 5:30am (02:30 GMT) near the Flag Roundabout, he said. The pattern of deadly violence around the GHF aid distribution site has triggered mounting international outrage, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday demanded an independent inquiry into the mass shooting of Palestinians. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' he said. 'I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.' The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians, claiming its soldiers fired 'warning shots' at individuals who 'posed a threat'. The GHF has also denied the shootings occurred although doubts about its neutrality have intensified since its founding executive director, former US marine Jake Wood, resigned before operations even began after he questioned the group's 'impartiality' and 'independence'. Critics said the group functions as a cover for Israel's broader campaign to depopulate northern Gaza as it concentrates aid in the south while bypassing established international agencies. Aid is still barely trickling into Gaza after Israel partially lifted a total siege that for more than two months cut off food, water, fuel and medicine to more than two million people. Thousands of children are at risk of dying from hunger-related causes, the UN has previously warned. Elsewhere in the territory, Israeli air attacks continued to hammer residential areas. In Jabalia in northern Gaza, Israeli forces killed 14 people, including seven children, in an attack on a home, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence agency. At least 20 people remained trapped under the rubble. Two more Palestinians were killed and several wounded in another attack in Deir el-Balah, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, while a drone attack in Khan Younis claimed yet another life. Gaza's Ministry of Health reported that at least 51 Palestinians have been killed and 503 injured in Israeli attacks across the territory in the latest 24-hour reporting period alone. Despite growing international condemnation, Israel's military on Monday ordered the displacement of even more civilians from parts of Khan Younis, warning it would 'operate with great force'. Roughly 80 percent of the strip is now either under Israeli military control or designated for forced evacuation, according to new data from the Financial Times, as Gaza's 2.3 million residents are crammed into an ever-shrinking patch of land in southern Gaza near the Egyptian border. Israel has made little secret of its aim to permanently displace Gaza's population as officials openly promote 'voluntary migration' plans. The Financial Times reported that the areas Palestinians are being pushed into resemble a 'desert wasteland with no running water, electricity or even hospitals'. Satellite images showed Israeli forces clearing land and setting up military infrastructure in evacuated areas. Analysts who reviewed dozens of recent forced evacuation orders said the trend has accelerated since the collapse of a truce in March. 'The Israeli government has been very clear with regards to what their plan is about in Gaza,' political analyst Xavier Abu Eid told Al Jazeera. 'It is about ethnic cleansing.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Illegal migrant' arrested in pro-Israel rally attack burnt his own face
An 'illegal immigrant' set himself on fire as he sprayed a makeshift flamethrower at pro-Israel protesters during an alleged terror attack. A mugshot released of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, appeared to show burns to his face while his ear was heavily bandaged after the attack that injured eight people. As details of his plot emerged on Monday, the Egyptian national is said to have turned a garden weed sprayer into a makeshift flamethrower by spraying gasoline in the direction of the marchers while holding a lighter in front of the stream of fuel. Investigators believe he had stopped at gas stations before the attack to fill up molotov cocktails and the makeshift flamethrower. Police found 14 more molotovs in the Pearl Street area, where he was detained. Officials believe he may have spent a year planning the attack. Credit: X The FBI said it was investigating the firebombing as terrorism, while the White House said on Sunday that the suspect was living in the country illegally and was granted a work permit by Joe Biden's administration. 'Yesterday's horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America,' Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!' 'A terror attack was committed in Boulder, Colorado by an illegal alien,' Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said. 'He was granted a tourist visa by the Biden administration, and then he illegally overstayed that visa. In response, the Biden administration gave him a work permit.' At least eight people, aged between 67 and 88, were injured in the attack at the busy Pearl Street Mall area at about 1.30pm local time (7.30pm GMT). Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado, told reporters that one of the victims was understood to be an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. Mr Soliman was being held on Monday on an array of charges, including assault and the use of explosives, in lieu of a $10-million bail, according to Boulder County records. He was also charged with a 'hate crime involving actual or perceived race, religion, or national origin,' according to an affidavit. Video of the aftermath of the attack showed Mr Soliman, wearing sunglasses and holding clear spray bottles, pacing as a fire on the grass burned in front of him. He shouted 'end Zionists', 'Palestine is free', and 'they are killers' towards several people as they tended to a person lying on the ground. At one point, he was confronted by onlookers, including one who said: 'He is spraying alcohol... he is making Molotov cocktails.' Other videos showed victims lying motionless on the ground as bystanders rushed to douse them with water. Credit: X via @MissNUndrground Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old student at the University of Colorado, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. She said one woman appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone. 'Everybody [was] yelling, 'get water, get water',' she said. Steve Redfearn, Boulder's police chief, said officers raced to the scene after receiving reports that people had been set on fire. 'The initial callers indicated that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire,' he said. 'When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims who were injured with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Firefighters rescue people from flats' fire
Firefighters have been rescuing people from the upper floors of a block of flats after a major blaze broke out. The fire started in the stairwell of flats in Marsh House Lane, Warrington, at about 17:20 GMT, Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service said. Crews from Warrington, Birchwood, Lymm and other stations across Cheshire have been tackling the blaze. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus have been sent in to try to bring the fire under control and people are being asked to avoid the area. Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
