GMP Officer Given Written Warning Over Investigation Failures After Reported Assault On Elderly Man

A Greater Manchester Police officer has received an 18-month written warning after failing to properly investigate a reported assault on an elderly man who later died in hospital.

PC Gary Knight did not obtain the man’s account, speak to him privately or obtain an account from the caller who reported the assault. He also failed to take steps to secure forensic evidence.

A misconduct panel found a breach of Duties and Responsibilities proven following a hearing at Greater Manchester Police headquarters on 28 and 29 September 2026.

The judgment expressly stated there was no suggestion Knight’s actions or omissions contributed to the man’s death, or that a different course of action would have saved his life.

Knight attended an address between 11.10pm and 11.41pm on 28 June 2024 after police received a report that an elderly man, identified in the judgment as PM, had been assaulted.

Bystanders told Knight that PM had fallen backwards and hit his head.

At 11.29pm, Knight told the control room that PM had “a nasty whack to the back of his head” and a cut on his cheek consistent with falling. He said he believed PM had been intoxicated and stumbled to the wrong address.

Knight had encountered PM previously, in November 2023, when he appeared drunk, had suffered a blackout and had cuts and bruising. Based on that encounter and PM’s presentation in June, Knight considered him particularly vulnerable.

However, the panel found Knight failed to establish PM’s account of his injuries or separate him from those present so he could speak privately.

While receiving treatment in the ambulance, PM told a crew member: “I didn’t fall over, they threw me on the floor.”

PM subsequently died in hospital. A post-mortem examination identified a scalp laceration, multiple fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, blood in the chest cavity and a fractured cheekbone. The injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma.

The relevant crime report was cancelled. However, when considering the alleged Honesty and Integrity breach, the panel found Knight’s crime report entry summarised his mistaken understanding of events rather than stating PM had personally told him he had fallen.

The panel concluded Knight genuinely believed PM had not been assaulted. The Honesty and Integrity allegation was not proven.

A Discreditable Conduct breach was also not proven. The panel concluded public confidence would not necessarily have been undermined if the public knew all the facts.

Knight accepted he should have responded differently. He said his primary concern was obtaining medical treatment and that his previous encounter with PM had left him with a “one track mind”.

The panel found his investigation fell below the standard reasonably expected, but concluded he had not deliberately set out to avoid his professional responsibilities.

His conduct amounted to misconduct.