The sisters of Putney Pusher suspect Nicholas Brandram have accused the Metropolitan Police of negligent and reckless handling of the investigation, saying their brother took his own life after months of pressure.
Mr Brandram, a 44-year-old private banker and former Army captain, had been under investigation over an incident on Putney Bridge in south-west London in May 2017, when a jogger appeared to push a woman into the path of an approaching bus.
His sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, said he was awaiting a DNA test which they believed would have cleared him. They said Mr Brandram and his lawyer had offered to pay for the test privately to speed up the process, but that more than two months later there was still no result.
“It is heartbreaking that Nick and his lawyer two months ago offered to pay for a DNA test privately to speed up the process,” they told Radio 4.
“We put our faith in the justice system and our faith in the Met Police. We thought the police would just do their own DNA test.”
Family says investigation placed ‘extraordinary pressure’ on him
The sisters said officers investigating their brother “were negligent” and had “failed Nick and society” in their duty of care.
Mrs Hicks, 40, said Mr Brandram’s mental health had deteriorated during the week before his death. “He said a couple of days ago that this investigation was murdering him. Day by day, he was slowly being murdered,” she told the Guardian.
Mr Brandram had been released but remained under investigation when he was found dead at his home on Tuesday. Police said his death was unexpected but was not believed to be suspicious.
In a statement, his family said there was no forensic evidence linking him to the Putney Bridge incident and no evidence placing him at the scene at the relevant time.
They said there was also “no credible evidence” that he was the man shown in the footage, adding that “the evidence proved the opposite”.
The family criticised the decision to arrest him rather than invite him for interview, and said officers searched his home before information released by the Met’s press team led to speculation and his identification in subsequent reporting.
“For Nick, the consequences did not disappear,” they said. “He was left for months carrying the stigma of an appalling allegation which the police themselves clearly recognised was unsupported by the evidence.”
They added that the investigation had continued despite repeated requests for it to end and warnings about its effect on his mental health.
“As a result, Nick is dead,” the family said.
Met says Putney Pusher investigation remains ongoing
Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles, who is responsible for policing in south-west London, said the investigation remained ongoing.
He said the force recognised the impact Mr Brandram’s death would have on his family and friends, and acknowledged the strain that being subject to a police investigation could place on individuals and their relatives.
“Following Mr Brandram’s release under investigation, it was made clear that enquiries would continue while officers progressed outstanding lines of enquiry and forensic examinations,” he said.
“Investigations of this nature, particularly those involving complex evidential and forensic work, can take a number of months to complete as officers gather and assess all available evidence.”
The Met has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as required when someone dies following contact with police. The watchdog said it had received a mandatory referral concerning prior contact between officers and Mr Brandram.
Police and ambulance crews were called to his property at 7.15pm on Tuesday. A 44-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, and his next of kin were informed.
Mr Brandram had been arrested in June. Police searched his £1.4 million home in Chiswick, west London, and rearrested him on suspicion of possessing Class A and Class B drugs, believed to be cocaine and cannabis.
He had been a director at HSBC’s private bank before being suspended following his arrest. He was also a decorated former captain in the British Army who served with the Scots Guards in Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan.
The Putney Bridge incident
The incident at the centre of the investigation happened at about 7.40am on May 5 2017. A woman was walking north across Putney Bridge when a jogger approached from the opposite direction.
Although there was room to pass safely, the jogger appeared to shove her into the road and into the path of a bus travelling at about 12mph. The driver, Oliver Salbris, swerved and missed the woman’s head by inches.
The jogger was seen returning in the opposite direction about 15 minutes later, passing the woman as she was being helped by members of the public and ignoring her calls to stop.
