I'm posting the following three news items as a summary of what is known so far about what happened at Banbury. However, as I hope we're all agreed, any further speculation would be inappropriate: we need to await the Independent Police Complaints Commission's findings.
From
the BBC» :
Banbury station stand-off referred to watchdog
The police watchdog has received a referral over a stand-off between officers and a man who had scaled a signal gantry at a railway station.
Thames Valley Police confirmed a Taser was fired during the incident in Banbury, which caused travel chaos.
Police said the man was harming himself with a knife and fell from the gantry.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said the force was required to make the referral because the man had been seriously injured.
The force could not confirm whether the man had been hit by the Taser. The man, in his 20s, was taken to hospital on Monday.
Some passengers reported being stuck on a train for five hours while Banbury station was closed.
British Transport Police also referred the incident to the IPCC, which is yet to launch a full investigation.
From the
Banbury Guardian:
Station incident latest: Police confirm man was tasered
Police have confirmed a man in his 20s who climbed a signal gantry at Banbury Railway Station was harming himself with a knife and had to be tasered by officers after he fell.
The station was cordoned off at 9.40am after the man from Banbury climbed the gantry next to the main town centre railway bridge and refused to come down. All train services were cancelled and roads around the station were closed.
At 2pm police negotiators were able to talk the man down but police had to taser him in order to detain him.
He was then taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital with injuries described as serious.
Thames Valley POlice issued a statement yesterday evening saying: ^Thames Valley Police attended a fear for welfare incident at Banbury Railway Station earlier today. Shortly after 9.30am TVP officers attended the scene where there was a concern for a man^s welfare. Train services were suspended while the incident was ongoing. A man was standing on a gantry at the railway station where he was harming himself with a knife. The man subsequently fell from the gantry and was detained. Taser was deployed by TVP officers during the incident. He was taken by ambulance to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where his condition is described as serious.^
The matter has been referred by British Transport Police to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Thames Valley Police has also notified the IPCC as a matter of routine.
Chief Inspector Helen Roberts, LPA Deputy Commander for Banbury, said: ^I understand there was significant disruption to people on trains and to those planning to use the railway station which was essential while officers worked to resolve the situation. I would like to thank the public for their patience while the incident was ongoing.^
From the
Oxford Times:
Police fire Taser at man to end rail station stand-off
The man threatens to jump, harming himself as a police officer climbs to help at Banbury train stationPolice fired a Taser at a knife-wielding man who closed Banbury Station when he climbed on to a signal gantry, it emerged last night.
The near five-hour stand-off with officers was ended yesterday when the man ^ who police said was harming himself with a knife ^ fell from the gantry.
He was taken to Oxford^s John Radcliffe Hospital and was last night said to be in a serious condition.
Thames Valley Police spokeswoman Michelle Nichols said police did fire a Taser but could not confirm if the man was struck by its barbs.
The man had scaled the structure just after 9am. The station was shut during the incident, causing severe delays to rail services.
Eyewitness Sarah Jones, 22, was planning to catch a train to Oxford yesterday morning. She said: ^At about 9.30am I saw a man sat on the pylon. Police were running through the station to try to talk him down. I don^t know what he^d done to himself, but he was covered in blood. He was wearing a yellow T-shirt and from the neckline to the bottom, right down the middle, was pure red. His hands were all red too.^
Police officers attempted to talk the man down.
Miss Jones, from Banbury, added: ^He was shouting at police officers, kicking out at them and throwing things at them. He then started using his hands to pull the wires apart.^
Miss Jones said all platforms were evacuated at about 10.15am. She said: ^We were told to go upstairs and stay away from the windows and things. There was a woman who said she was a mental health social worker who knew him. She was with the police talking to him.^
The full-time mum said: ^It was really scary. No one was expecting this. There were little kids around. It must have been terrifying for them.^
Craig Barrie, who lives behind the station, added: ^They shut off the bridge in Bridge Street and no one was allowed over it, except one woman who was escorted by police over the bridge at one point. The negotiators kept putting their hands up, gesturing for him to come down.^
The 40-year-old, full-time dad of six, said: ^The police actually tried getting up on the gantry hole and he turned around and went backwards over the side. He landed on the platform on his back and everyone rushed towards him ^ police, paramedics, everyone. It was quite dramatic and traumatic.^
Chiltern Rail and CrossCountry trains through Banbury were cancelled and delayed, with replacement buses running between the station and Bicester North and Oxford. Buses were also affected, due to the bridge closure and Middleton Road being closed to traffic.
British Transport Police spokesman Brian Price said: ^Trained negotiators from Thames Valley Police spoke to the man while he remained on the gantry above the tracks. The man jumped from the gantry shortly after 2pm and was detained by officers before being taken by ambulance to John Radcliffe.^
Both forces have contacted the Independent Police Complaints Commission over the incident.
The station re-opened at 2.30pm, and normal train services were resumed shortly after 5pm.
