Inquest concludes following fatal collision involving police in Birmingham

Police responding to a 999 call before they were involved in a fatal road collision in Birmingham acted appropriately, an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded.

A five-day inquest which concluded today (Friday 23 January) at Birmingham Coroner’s Court, determined that Roger Bagnall, a 40-year-old father of two, died as a result of a road traffic collision.

We began our investigation following a mandatory referral from West Midlands Police (WMP) after the collision at Acocks Green on 19 March last year (2025) in which Mr Bagnall died.

Our investigation, which concluded in September, established that at about 7pm, two WMP officers were in a marked police car responding to reports of a man carrying a knife. Emergency lights and sirens were activated as the car drove along Yardley Road where it was in collision with Mr Bagnall.

Evidence we gathered, including CCTV, indicated that Mr Bagnall stepped into the road as the police car approached at a speed of between 55 and 61 mph. The driver braked to between 25 and 35mph and appeared to try to steer around Mr Bagnall who, in what looked like an attempt to run across the road, ran into the path of the vehicle and was struck by it. The officers requested an ambulance and immediately started CPR but sadly Mr Bagnall was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The IOPC began an investigation the same evening and sent investigators to the police post incident procedure and to the scene to gather evidence.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “Our sympathies are with Mr Bagnall’s family and friends, and to all those affected by his death and the tragic nature of it.

“In line with our role we independently looked at the circumstances of the collision, along with the actions and decisions of the officers involved. We found that they had acted appropriately and in line with police policies and procedures. There was no indication they had behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence. 

“We provided the coroner with our investigation report to assist with the inquest proceedings and help provide answers to any questions about what happened that evening.”  

While gathering evidence our investigators carried out house to house inquiries, collated police body worn video for review, recovered dashcam footage and telematics data from the police car, and CCTV from the area. We also obtained statements from the officers and made a successful public appeal for footage of the incident.