Police 'respect' death by dangerous driving acquittal 

Constabulary asks for privacy of family to be respected

Police say they ‘respect’ the outcome of a court case which saw a driver acquitted of causing death by dangerous driving.

At Douglas Courthouse today (10 September) Jackson Joseph Paul was found not guilty of the offence.

It follows a seven-day trial at the Court of General Gaol Delivery.

Jurors also determined the 37-year-old was not guilty of an alternative, lesser, charge of causing death by careless driving.

‘Catastrophic injuries’

The prosecution was brought following the death of 29-year-old Jordan Thomas in 2024.

The Onchan resident suffered ‘catastrophic’ injuries after falling from the bonnet of Mr Paul’s BMW during an incident on Harbour Road on 25 February that year.

He’d climbed onto the vehicle, as Mr Paul was attempting to drive past him, and proceeded to pull at the windscreen wipers and punch the windscreen.

Mr Thomas fell backwards, into the road, when Mr Paul attempted to drive off; he was flown to the UK for hospital treatment but died on 4 March.

Evidence

Opening the case on 2 September the prosecutor told jurors: “There can be no doubt that such behaviour was bizarre.”

However he argued that Mr Paul's actions had been ‘neither reasonable nor proportionate’.

At the start of the trial Deemster Sandeep Kainth told the court there was ‘no space for emotion’ in this case and the jury had to decide on the evidence as presented.

That included video footage taken by Mr Paul’s front seat passenger, witness accounts from people at the scene, Mr Paul’s own account and a site visit to Harbour Road.

Following the verdict the deemster thanked members of the public, including Mr Thomas’ family and friends, for showing ‘dignity and restraint’ during the proceedings.  

Retrial

The jury was unaware that this case was a retrial after Mr Paul was originally convicted of the offence in February 2025.

He was initially jailed for six years - a sentence which was reduced to four years on appeal.

In March 2025 Mr Paul was given permission to appeal his conviction and sentence and in January this year his conviction was quashed and the retrial ordered.  

Privacy

The Isle of Man Constabulary has told Manx Radio it won’t be providing further comment on this case.

In a statement it adds: “We ask that the privacy of the (Thomas) family is respected and the constabulary will not be issuing a statement on their behalf.”