Jack Barnes: Four Metrolink tram staff appear in court accused of manslaughter of Yorkshire man they chased

Four tram workers have appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of a father-of-one.
By Kim Pilling, Press Association
Published 4th Jan 2024, 15:33 BST

Jack Barnes, 29, from Hull, suffered a cardiac arrest after he was restrained by the ‘customer service representatives’ who were monitoring anti-social behaviour on Greater Manchester’s Metrolink tram system.

Mr Barnes died in hospital on December 2, 2016, less than two months after the incident in Manchester city centre which followed a kilometre pursuit from Victoria Station.

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On Thursday, Paul Fogarty, 50; Stephen Rowlands, 67; Matthew Sellers, 29; and Brian Gartside, 59, appeared in the dock at Manchester Magistrates’ Court to each face a charge that they unlawfully killed Mr Barnes.

Jack Barnes. The 29-year-old, from Hull, was restrained face-down on the pavement following an altercation at a railway station.Jack Barnes. The 29-year-old, from Hull, was restrained face-down on the pavement following an altercation at a railway station.
Jack Barnes. The 29-year-old, from Hull, was restrained face-down on the pavement following an altercation at a railway station.

Ben Southam, prosecuting, told the court the decision to prosecute the men was made following an inquest ruling in 2021.

No pleas were entered as magistrates adjourned the case until February 8 for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Manchester Crown Court.

Fogarty, of Monks Lane, Bolton; Rowlands, of Wearish Lane, Westhoughton; Sellers, of Heathfield Road, Bury, and Gartside, of Danesworth Avenue, Whitworth, were all granted unconditional bail.

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Rowlands faces an additional charge of perverting the course of justice by allegedly providing a false witness statement to Greater Manchester Police in October 2016.

Members of Mr Barnes’s family sat in the public gallery during the brief preliminary hearing.