Citizens’ arrest brothers were afraid suspected car thief was ‘armed with a weapon’ when they detained him on Wigan street, inquest hears

Liam and Ryan Turner gave evidence on the second day of an inquest into the death of Ashton man Jordan Higham.

The 25-year-old became unresponsive while he was detained by the brothers in the early hours of November 6, 2017.

Older brother Liam, who works as a paint sprayer, said he heard someone outside the family home and saw a man trying car door handles.

He said: "I thought he was trying to break in, so I went to alert my brother to tell him there was someone in the driveway."

They got into Liam's black Subaru, found the suspect on a bicycle further down the street and drove up alongside him.

Mr Turner said: "Jordan Higham braked hard on his bike and then turned down a side road. My brother got out of the car and chased him on foot."

Mr Higham fell off his bike when he crashed into a parked car, and Liam Turner said by the time he arrived there on foot, his brother and Mr Higham were lying on the floor "head to head."

He added: "Jordan Higham was trying to escape, while Ryan was trying to hold on to him. He had his hands around his chest area, while I knelt down over them to try and stop Jordan flinging his arms around."

While they called to neighbours to phone police, Mr Higham continued to struggle intermittently, in between bouts of not resisting, during the 10 minutes or so he was restrained.

Ryan Turner said when Liam first told him he was going to try to apprehend a suspected thief, he "rushed outside to protect him" in case the suspect had a weapon.

He described Mr Higham as dressed "all in black, with his hood up and a rucksack on”.

Mr Turner said: "I got out of the car and pursued Jordan Higham. He fell off his bike and landed on the road. I put my arms round his shoulders and put my legs around his legs. He was still struggling and my brother was holding his hands. We didn't know if he had a weapon on him. There was no conversation with him."

When asked by coroner Peter Sigee about their justification for restraining Mr Higham, Ryan said: "He was trying to steal out of cars. That entitled me to restrain him for the purposes of an arrest.

"I was focused on keeping hold of him in case he had a weapon. He was fighting us throughout the whole ordeal. As soon as police arrived, he stopped trying to fight anyone. I was shocked when they started to perform CPR on him."

Police officers who attended the incident on Nicol Mere Drive, Ashton, also gave evidence.

Sgt John Bibby, who was the first to arrive, said he was told by Ryan Turner that Mr Higham "kept pretending to go to sleep" or feign unconsciousness.

However, when Sgt Bibby handcuffed Mr Higham, he realised he was "completely unresponsive and his eyes were wide open”.

"In all honesty, he was deceased at that stage," he added.

(Proceeding)