Wolverhampton bus death: Man named as police face probe

His identity was revealed as it emerged the Independent Police Complaints Commission is to investigate the response of officers on the day he died.

The IPCC is looking into the actions of police and a civilian staff member after a bus driver asked for help at Wolverhampton Central Police Station in the early evening of Friday, October 17.

The driver of the number one Dudley-to-Tettenhall service diverted the vehicle to the Bilston Street station due to concerns about Mr Jones, who is said to have collapsed on board.

Eyewitness said passengers told the driver Mr Jones was lying on the floor at the rear of the lower level of the double-decker and, after attempts to rouse him failed, the bus headed to the nearby police station.

IPCC spokesman Neil Coyte said at this stage investigators had established that the driver parked the bus outside and went in to request assistance to deal with the passenger, who he believed to be drunk.

Mr Coyte said the bus driver returned to the front counter again at 6.36pm. He was then joined by a passenger at 6.46pm who provided further information regarding Mr Jones' condition, and the bus driver called an ambulance.

Eyewitnesses say while the driver was waiting inside, a female passenger came in shouting: "Help, help, he's not breathing."

Paramedics tried to resuscitate Mr Jones but he was declared dead at the scene. Results of a post mortem are inconclusive.

Last month the IPCC confirmed they had received a referral from West Midlands Police regarding the incident and were making an assessment to determine the level, if any, of IPCC involvement.

At the time, Chief Inspector Ian Green, from West Midlands Police, said an initial police investigation found there were no suspicious circumstances leading to the man's death.