A man who killed an off-duty policeman after a single punch to the face caused the officer to smash his head on a pavement has been jailed today at Manchester Crown Court for four-and-a-half years.
Westley Holland, 21, of Laburnum Way, Stockport, was convicted of manslaughter for the death of PC Gareth Francis after a Manchester City game on Saturday January 19.
His family have now released a statement paying tribute to their ‘loving happy and amazing man’.
“The life we have now is the polar opposite of this perfection. It is so extreme it hardly bears resemblance to our ‘before Gareth died’ life,” the Francis family said.
“It feels like it’s all gone. Everything we did revolved around our family. The drive we had in life was all to do with providing for our children and now that drive has gone because our family has lost its key component, our only son.
“We were present as our son’s last living moments were played out in public in court on CCTV, we have listened as our son’s killer told lies after lies and I’ve had to watch my wife and daughter’s pain as we struggle as a family to comprehend how someone can kill such an amazing man and then go and play on a play station game entirely indifferent to the fact that our beautiful Gareth lay dying in the street where he left him. It is the height of disrespect.”
Gareth had been celebrating his 28th birthday in the city centre after watching the match with his father and some friends.
It was around midnight when he got a taxi to Edgeley and went to a takeaway on Castle Street where they saw Holland and two of his friends.
Words were then exchanged after Gareth and his friends followed Holland down an alleyway as the two groups had previously fallen out.
Holland then ran off and made his way back to the Sir Robert Peel pub, while Gareth and his friends continued their walk home, Holland met another friend and told him he had been jumped by three men and asked for his friends help to find them.
They eventually came across Gareth and his friend at the junction of Bulkeley Street and Castle Street and an argument took place before Holland started to walk away. He then heard a further comment and marched back to Gareth, punching him without warning in the face.
The force of the blow threw Gareth backwards causing his head crashing into the pavement rendering him unconscious, Holland then walked back towards the pub leaving Gareth on the floor.
Senior Investigating Officer Duncan Thorpe, said: “The consequences of what Holland did have been devastating for both Gareth’s family, his partner, friends and for his colleagues in the police force.
“While Holland may not have intended to take Gareth’s life, once he took the decision to punch him he was reckless to the potential consequences and did nothing to assist him after he had fallen to the ground.
“His single punch has led to a tragic waste of a young life and he will now spend the rest of his life living with the consequences.
“This case once again demonstrates the dreadful outcomes possible when people try to settle disputes with their fists.”
Gareth was assisted by A number of pubgoers and an ambulance was called however he died a short time later at Stepping Hill Hospital.
Holland was later arrested that day and a post mortem examination found that Gareth died from a head injury following a single punch.
Gareth’s family added: “We want Westley Holland to realise the very great human cost and catastrophic lifelong consequences for those left to grieve, of a split second decision to throw one single punch which took the life of our beautiful son.
“Our loss is so great that we can never forgive him.”
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