Police have said they will take action against people who taunted a man before he fell to his death from a multi-storey car park in Telford, Shropshire on Saturday afternoon.
West Mercia police were called to the car park at Southwater, where negotiators spoke to the man for about two hours. The man, who fell and was pronounced dead at 3.40pm, has yet to be formally identified and the investigation has been referred to the coroner.
One witness said about 20 people, mostly teenagers, but “some grown men” had recorded video of the incident, with some urging the man to jump.
“As we walked past, there were some youths shouting ‘Go on, do it – jump’,” Chloe Jones told the BBC. “It made me feel quite sick, actually, and then a lot of them were filming it, but to see some grown men filming it … I just said to them ‘What on earth are you going to do with that footage? Are you going to home and watch it if that poor man jumps?’”
Police said they were aware of “the distasteful and disrespectful actions and comments upon social media at the time and subsequent to the incident”.
Mark O’Connor, a detective sergeant for West Mercia police, said: “We do not condone such behaviour, and would hope that the local community would work with our officers to provide information regarding those who committed the cruel taunts. This was clearly someone who was in need of support.
“In response to the activity on social media, the origin of any comments or material that is deemed to be unlawful will be investigated and appropriate police action will be taken against any identified individual. I would urge that any person who is in possession of any related material does not publish it any further and ensures it is disposed of.”
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