IPCC appeals for witness to motorcycle RTI

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is appealing for witnesses to a Greater Manchester Police pursuit which culminated in the death of a 54-year-old motorcyclist.

Alan Stuart Long, of Linden Road in Denton, suffered serious injuries after the motorcycle he was riding was in collision with a VW Polo at the junction of Stamford Road and Rassbottom Street in Stalybridge just before midnight on Friday 1 August 2008. Mr Long died as a result of his injuries in Tameside General Hospital on 2 August.

Greater Manchester Police officers had attempted to stop Mr Long on Whittle Street in Denton at approximately 11.10pm on Friday night. He failed to stop and there was a pursuit involving a number of police vehicles, supported by the GMP aircraft. The pursuit lasted approximately 50 minutes and included parts of the M60 motorway.

IPCC Commissioner Nicholas Long said: “It is important that we build as full a picture as possible of what happened during the pursuit of Mr Long and at the scene of the collision. I would urge anyone who saw any stage of the pursuit to contact us. Any piece of information, no matter how minor you may think it is, will assist our investigation.”

Anyone who may have witnessed any aspect of the incident is asked to contact the IPCC by either telephoning 0800 096 9078 or e-mailing gmprti@ipcc.gsi.gov.uk.

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Media contact:

Ian Christon, Regional Communications Officer (North Region) Tel 0161 246 8582 Journalists with urgent enquiries about incidents outside normal office hours should contact the on-call press officer on 07717 851157