A British man has been jailed for killing a vandal during a citizen’s arrest — pinning him to the ground by his neck in a case with eerie similarities to George Floyd’s death.
Benjamin Hunt, 32, tackled stranger Christopher Walters, 25, in Longton in May 2019 after spotting him smashing his son’s car windows with a sledgehammer, a court heard Friday, according to the Stoke Sentinel.
The dad of two then pinned Walters to the ground with the help of a work colleague, Jonathan Hassall — who killed himself days before his trial started, the outlet said.
As Hassell held Walters’ lower body, Hunt held him “around the neck,” using his body weight to pin him down even when he stopped moving and became unconscious, Prosecutor Robert Price told Stafford Crown Court.
Hunt was still on top of the lifeless body when police arrived 19 minutes after the initial emergency call, the court heard. Walters was pronounced dead later that day, with the cause of death compression of the neck.
Christopher Walters died from Benjamin Hunt pinning him by the neck and suffocating him. STAFFORDSHIRE POLICE“When Mr. Walters stopped resisting, and when he was clearly unconscious, Mr. Hunt should have released his hold of Mr. Walters’ neck. He did not,” Price told the court.
“His actions at that point … became excessive and unlawful,” the prosecutor said.
Hunt was sentenced to three years and two months in prison after admitting manslaughter, the Sentinel said.
“He accepts he held on for too long. He acknowledges that once Mr. Walters had lost consciousness, he should have let go,” his attorney, Barry White, told the court.
