Hung jury declared at inquest into death of ex-soldier tasered by police

 Hung jury declared at inquest into death of ex-soldier tasered by police

Platoon sergeant Spencer Beynon, from Llanelli, was 43 when he died

By

Luke O'Reilly and Bronwen Weatherby, PA

10:12, 26 OCT 2021

The jury at an inquest into the death of an ex-soldier who was tasered by police has been discharged after failing to agree about the way he died.

Spencer Beynon, 43, a former platoon sergeant from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, died on June 14, 2016 after officers were called by members of the public over concerns about his behaviour.

The inquest has been taking place at Parc y Scarlets rugby stadium in Llanelli over the last three weeks.

Read more: Go here to see all the latest court and inquest coverage from around Wales

Oliver West, one of the two officers who responded to the reports, told the hearing he had "no other option" but to fire his Taser at Mr Beynon, claiming the military veteran had stood and tried to charge at him.

Other witnesses, including Mr West's then colleague Pc Sian Beynon, have said they did not see Mr Beynon get to his feet before the officer discharged his weapon.

On Thursday, acting senior coroner Paul Bennett instructed the jury to record that Mr Beynon's death was as a result of a cut throat, and not the Taser.

However, on Monday a hung jury was announced and the jurors discharged after not being able to come to a majority decision on what to rule the death as.

A decision has not yet been made about whether there will be another inquest.

Why we cover inquests – and why it's so important that we do

As painful as these proceedings are for those who have lost a loved one the lessons that can be learned from inquests can go a long way to saving others’ lives.

The press has a legal right to attend inquests and has a responsibility to report on them as part of their duty to uphold the principle of open justice.

It’s a journalist’s duty to make sure the public understands the reasons why someone has died and to make sure their deaths are not kept secret. An inquest report can also clear up any rumours or suspicion surrounding a person’s death.

But, most importantly of all, an inquest report can draw attention to circumstances which may stop further deaths from happening.

Should journalists shy away from attending inquests then an entire arm of the judicial system is not held to account.

Inquests can often prompt a wider discussion on serious issues, the most recent of these being mental health and suicide.

Editors actively ask and encourage reporters to speak to the family and friends of a person who is the subject of an inquest. Their contributions help us create a clearer picture of the person who died and also provides the opportunity to pay tribute to their loved one.

Often families do not wish to speak to the press and of course that decision has to be respected. However, as has been seen by many powerful media campaigns, the input of a person’s family and friends can make all the difference in helping to save others.

Without the attendance of the press at inquests questions will remain unanswered and lives will be lost.

Mr Beynon's family said in a statement: "The family remain of the view that the coroner directed the inquest jury in the wrong way.

"If the coroner had directed the jury to make their own decision instead of insisting it was either suicide or accidental death this inquest would not have collapsed.

"It is obvious the jury did not agree with the coroner's direction given last Thursday.

"To think that as a family we will now have to go through this all again is heartbreaking, but we will do so to get justice for Spencer.

"The family believe the jury would have come to a conclusion, if they had been correctly directed."

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/hung-jury-declared-inquest-death-21969831