Police Watchdog to Investigate Brandram Death

Will look at necessity of his arrest and the Met's contact with media

Nicholas Brandram. Picture: Facebook

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has ruled that the Metropolitan Police’s contact with Nicholas Brandram, who recently died in his home in Chiswick, will be the subject of a formal investigation.

The 44-year-old man was found dead on Cranbrook Road on 15 September. He was a suspect in the Putney Pusher case as well as facing drug related charges. His family claim that he had been falsely accused and the stress and the drawn-out nature of the case directly led to his death.

It is standard practice for the Met to refer itself to the watchdog whenever a person dies following contact with police which it did on 16 September.

In a statement on Friday (25 September), the IOPC said it had “decided that an investigation is required”, and recommended that the review examine “the necessity and proportionality of arrest, what engagement was there with the media and considerations made in relation to Mr Brandram’s welfare and the relevant policy.”

The watchdog has directed the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards to carry out the investigation. Even the internal review concludes that there was no misconduct, the final report must still be submitted to the IOPC for scrutiny.

An inquest into the death opened at West London Coroner’s Court on Tuesday (22 September) but was immediately suspended because of the IOPC referral.

Brandram’s family have said that he took his own life after months of immense pressure caused by the investigation. His sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he did not match the description of the jogger seen in CCTV footage with a tattoo on his arm not visible. They described his June arrest as “hostile” and criticised the Met for allowing his details to reach the press. Brandram’s name was widely reported at this time where he was described as a ‘millionaire banker’ with royal connections.

“I think he couldn’t understand why there wasn’t urgency to help clear his name,” she said. “He was, at one point, an officer in the Army. His reputation meant everything.” She added: “The Met, they were negligent, they were reckless, and they have failed our brother.”

The Putney Bridge incident took place on 5 May 2017, when a man jogging across the bridge was filmed forcefully shoving a woman into the path of an oncoming bus. The driver quickly took evasive action, and she escaped with minor injuries.

In April this year, new information was given to officers, prompting fresh lines of inquiry. Brandram was arrested in June on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm as well as offences relating to Class A and Class B drugs. The Met has said officers judged the arrest “necessary and proportionate in order to seize devices and carry out further searches”. He was released under investigation.

The police have not formally cleared him and said last week that the 2017 incident ‘remains under investigation.”