In the early hours of the morning on Sunday 6th May 2013, Julian and some of his friends who were enjoying a night-out at Elements Nightclub on Mill Street in Bedford were asked to leave.  Initially they walked away but then Julian, seemingly intent on requesting a refund, ran back to the club.

Crucial moments of what took place as Julian ran back to the forecourt of the club is not captured on CCTV, however it is known that he was forcefully taken to the ground twice; on the first occasion by a  member of the club security team and police officers then on a second occasion by police officers only.

After being pinned to the ground by the police officers the CCTV then clearly shows Julian limp and seemingly unconscious as he is dragged across the road by the police officers in the direction of a police van. Julian was manhandled into the back of a police van and a police sergeant made a decision to take him into police custody rather than refer him to hospital for emergency treatment. He was driven to Greyfriar’s Police Station. He remained unresponsive in the van and after a period of time an ambulance was called.

Julian had suffered a broken neck and a severe spinal cord injury; these injuries then resulted in him suffering a cardiac arrest and a serious brain injury due to a lack of oxygen reaching his brain. He is now paralysed and has brain damage. He has spent the last 5 years in a residential care home, where he remains in a vegetative state.

On 22 October 2018 a police misconduct panel composed of John Bassett, Superintendent Sue Jameson and Diane Carter reached a verdict that three officers of the Bedfordshire Police Service, who were involved in the arrest and detention of Julian Cole, who suffered catastrophic injuries were found guilty of gross misconduct and were immediately dismissed by Bedfordshire Police. The fourth officer, PS Withey, was found guilty of misconduct in relation to his failure to direct that Julian be taken to hospital ahead of a police station. He received a final written warning.

PC Hannah Ross, PC Nicholas Oates, PC Sanjeev Kalyan and PS Andrew Withey faced gross misconduct charges arising from their failures to conduct any adequate welfare checks on Julian after two periods of restraint, before manhandling him into the van, or whilst he was in the police van.

PC Hannah Ross, PC Nicholas Oates and PC Sanjeev Kalyan were also accused of making false entries in their pocket note books on 6 May 2013 and providing fabricated accounts of events in interviews to give the impression that Julian was able to support his own body weight, walk to the police van and chat with officers. 

This hearing was not formally about who caused Julian’s injuries, however, the outcome confirmed the family’s belief that police officers gave deliberately dishonest accounts in order to avoid criticisms of wrongdoing and their behaviour that demonstrated a callous disregard for Julian’s wellbeing.

Please support the family’s calls for the officers to be held to account for this conduct in a criminal court.

Below is the link for Julian's GoFundMe page to support his medical care:

SUPPORT JULIAN COLE & HIS FAMILY

Visiting Julian Cole: the man paralysed after being tackled outside a nightclub