The officer driving a police car which struck a 19-year-old at the end of a police chase, killing him instantly, previously had a starring TV role.
PC Paul Jackson was known as ‘Jacko’ when he appeared on hit Channel 5 show Police Interceptors.
The docuseries followed Durham Constabulary for five seasons between September 2015 and July 2018, where PC Jackson was a tactically trained driver and firearms officer, as they pursued criminals on the region’s roads.
Read more: Teenager killed by police car in chase found to have died through misadventure
On October 18, 2019, Jackson was led on a six-minute police chase through Spennymoor, County Durham by wanted 19-year-old Kelvin Bainbridge.
The pursuit ended in tragedy when prolific offender Bainbridge, who was disqualified from driving and had 45 convictions to his name, jumped from his Nissan Primera while it was still moving, stumbled and was hit by the police BMW PC Jackson was driving.
He suffered an “un-survivable” blunt head injury and died at the scene.
A probe by the police watchdog the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) followed, and it was decided no criminal charges would be brought against Jackson.
Read more: 'I just wanted to arrest him': Officer's apology to parents of teen killed in pursuit
Episodes staring 'Jacko' are still available to watch on Channel 5 streaming platform My5.
An inquest into Bainbridge’s death was held at Crook Coroners Court over the last two weeks. Its role was to make findings of fact as how to he came about his death, not rule on any criminal wrongdoing.
The Echo, and other media outlets, chose not to publish details of PC Jackson’s Police Interceptors appearances during the inquest as jurors had not been told of his TV past.
The inquest heard Jackson would not have had time to avoid the collision after seeing kelvin open his door.
Mr Robin Taylor, a now-retired collision investigator who filed a report into the crash, told the jury: “From seeing the person (Kelvin Bainbridge) coming out, no he’s not got the time to react and to stop.
The officer, who had previously taken part in hundreds of pursuits, has not been involved in one since the incident. He appeared upset as told the court on Monday (September 25) he is no longer in a “front-facing” role and instead trains new recruits.
He added that it was “horrible being involved in a pursuit”, saying: “It’s a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach, all you want them to do is stop.”
But he stood by his decision during the fatal chase saying “I made all the right calls”. He added:
Jackson broke in tears as he refuted claims from Bainbridge’s mum Suzanne that the officer had a “vendetta” against her son Kelvin.
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He said “I just wanted to arrest him, that’s all I wanted.
“The last thing I wanted was the outcome we got.
“I was trying to do the right thing, I am so sorry for how this finished. I am.”
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