Inquest into the death of Nottinghamshire Police sergeant Graham Saville hears that corporate manslaughter could be considered as a conclusion
An inquest into the death of a police officer who was hit by a train while trying to save a distressed person will consider whether the case amounts to corporate manslaughter.
Sergeant Graham Saville was attempting to save a person in distress, referred to at the inquest as Patient C, on the train tracks near Hollowdyke Lane, Balderton, on August 24, 2023, when he was struck.
The inquest, being held at Nottingham Council House, heard that Graham died at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham five days later.
The inquest heard evidence today (June 10) from LNER drivers — one that drove the train the one that struck Graham and the one at the helm of the service travelling in the opposite direction.
Gabriel Brown, a train driver for 20 years, was driver of the train that struck Graham.
He was travelling at 125mph at the time — and said that it takes three quarters of a mile to stop the train at that speed.
“I was focused on the person in front of me, who I now know to be the police officer doing his job,” he said.
“I noticed another two people on my left, but I was mainly focused on the person I knew I would hit, who I now know to be a police officer.
“I was so scared and sick to my stomach.”
Mr Brown said to have blasted his train’s horn continuously but no one was looking in his direction. He said that his heart sank knowing that his emergency brakes were not going to slow down in time.
The afternoon concluded with evidence from Nottinghamshire Police Superintendent Thomas Allardyce, who at the time of the incident was the head of contact management with responsibility to direct staff training.
Prior to Graham’s death, Superintendent Allardyce said the training that his teams received for incidents on or near the railway line would be distributed through briefing notes and guidance, which was circulated through their newsletter and email.
It was heard that officers had received basic training in water safety following previous incidents where colleagues had entered the water to rescue people.
Coroner Laurinda Bower referred to the situation as a “response to incidents, rather than being proactive”.
Superintendent Allardyce said that prior to the incident, he considered the way that information was distributed to colleagues to be sufficient. However, the operating systems and training within the force have been changed since.
The force had documents referring to safety on railway lines, but the officers, regardless of grade, had not received any face-to-face training about it or been told that they had to confirm they had read the documents.
Superintendent Allardyce said there is now a “default decision” within the force stating that no one goes on train tracks unless in exceptional circumstances.
This morning’s proceedings heard that corporate manslaughter has been considered as one of the conclusions, with submissions made by legal representatives of Nottinghamshire Police and the coroner's response to concerns about procedural fairness.
The court heard that the force had previously been under investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for potential breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act concerning Graham’s death. The Health and Safety Executive decided not to pursue a prosecution at the time, but the inquest was told that they had considered charges of corporate manslaughter.
Coroner Laurinda Bower confirmed that she had previously suspended the inquest to allow authorities with prosecution powers time to review the case.
The counsel for the chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police raised concerns that the possibility of a corporate manslaughter conclusion was only raised "late last week" and that such a conclusion would be "unsafe", urging the coroner to treat the matter with caution.
The coroner said that Nottinghamshire Police had been made “expressly aware” from early on in proceedings that corporate manslaughter was being considered.
Documents disclosed to the court showed that the Health and Safety Executive had informed the force of material breaches and had reserved the right to revisit prosecution after the inquest concluded.
The coroner said: “The chief constable had been made absolutely, expressly aware by my office that I would keep an absolutely open mind as to any conclusion and would not reach a conclusion until the end of the evidence.
“Just because an organisation with prosecutory powers has chosen not to institute a criminal prosecution does not prevent me from considering that conclusion to the lesser standard of proof on a balance of probabilities.”
The coroner stated that she has acted in fairness and transparently throughout the proceedings and that she has given all the interested parties opportunities to make submissions and provide further evidence.
The counsel for Network Rail said: “Corporate manslaughter has become an option that the family invite you to consider as part of your conclusions because of the evidence.
“Everybody has had an opportunity, and by that I mean the interested parties, to call any additional evidence or provide additional disclosure which goes with issues raised by the family.”
The coroner has confirmed that she was satisfied with all the evidence given throughout the inquest.
The inquest is set to resume on Friday (June 13) where the coroner will present her written conclusion.