PC thought murderer was making 'empty threats' before arson attack
PC Gemma Quinn did not think it necessary to arrest Zak Bolland after Michelle Pearson's 999 call.
The court heard Quinn and PC Mike Grundy went to the scene in Walkden around 01:25 GMT after Michelle Pearson called 999 because Bolland and three others were outside her house.
Bolland had been heard shouting "I'm going to break Kyle's jaw" and threatened to "boot the door down".
Quinn, as the senior officer, told the court she knew Bolland, two weeks earlier, had threatened to set fire to Michelle Pearson's house and smashed windows with a hammer.
There were also markers on databases about his drug use, firearms and violence.
Yet she chose not to arrest Bolland as she believed it was an "empty threat".
"As a police officer, you get to see the worst side of a community and unfortunately, Salford and what I saw in 14 years….individuals make threats like that, quite often."
Her shift was not due to end until 05:00, the inquest heard.
Bolland's last known address was close by, but Quinn chose to go back to the police station.
When asked whether she should have tried to arrest him immediately, Quinn said "In hindsight, yes".
She told the court: "It's not that we had stopped dealing with the job, we had write-ups to do.
The family's barrister, Anna Morris KC asked if that work was more important than questioning Bolland - to which Quinn replied: "No".
Quinn said: "As a police officer, you get to see the worst side of a community and unfortunately in Salford and what I saw in 14 years, individuals make threats like that quite often.
"We didn't believe we needed to make an arrest, there and then, that night."
In his statement, Grundy had told Michelle he expected Bolland to be arrested.
It was suggested in the inquest that this was likely to have made Michelle feel she was not in any danger.
The inquest also heard that despite asking Michelle if she felt safe in the house, she sought not to try and move the family immediately to a secure location.
Quinn said she did not see the point in calling Michelle's housing provider, City West, because it was out of hours.
