Family of Banker Under Investigation Over 2017 'Putney Pusher' Case Blames Police Following His Death

The family of Nicholas Brandram, a 44-year-old banker who was found dead earlier this week, has forcefully rejected claims that he was the notorious "Putney pusher," directly holding the Metropolitan Police responsible for his death. Brandram had spent recent months under intense police suspicion regarding the unsolved 2017 assault, in which a male jogger shoved a female pedestrian into the path of an oncoming bus on Putney Bridge in west London.

In an extensive public statement, his grieving relatives insisted there was absolutely no credible link between Brandram and the attack. They stated unequivocally that no forensic material connected the banker to the scene and emphasized that investigators possessed no evidence placing him on Putney Bridge at the time the incident took place.

The family further maintained that the video footage captured during the 2017 incident did not match Brandram in any plausible manner. According to their statement, the available evidence did not merely lack conclusive proof of his involvement, but in fact established the exact opposite, exonerating him from the allegations.

Describing the devastating human toll of the police inquiry, the family revealed that Brandram took his own life after enduring months of immense and unrelenting pressure. They stated that he had been forced to carry the weight of an appalling allegation that even police investigators privately recognized was unsupported by genuine evidence.

Emergency services and police officers located the 44-year-old dead inside his private residence on Tuesday evening. In a formal statement following the discovery, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that his death is currently being handled as unexpected, though detectives do not believe the circumstances to be suspicious.

The case against Brandram had escalated sharply in June of this year when officers arrested him on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm relating to the bridge attack. During that same period in police custody, Brandram was also placed under arrest on suspicion of possessing illegal substances categorized as Class A and Class B drugs.

Only last week, the Met confirmed that Brandram had been officially released under investigation, continuing to leave him under the shadow of potential prosecution. His family heavily criticized this course of action, questioning why authorities chose to execute a formal arrest and conduct an intrusive search of his residence rather than simply inviting him for a voluntary interview.

The family also directed sharp criticism at the Metropolitan Police's media handling, arguing that information distributed by the force's press office directly triggered widespread public speculation. This communication inevitably resulted in Brandram being identified in news reporting, subjecting him to acute shame, anxiety, and public humiliation over an allegation they deemed unfounded.

Relatives insisted that law enforcement authorities had been repeatedly urged to bring the protracted investigation to an immediate close. They pointed out that investigators received multiple warnings regarding the severe toll the inquiry was taking on Brandram's fragile mental health, lamenting that officers chose to keep the case open despite being alerted to the potential dangers.

The shocking incident at the center of the investigation took place on 5 May 2017 on Putney Bridge. A female pedestrian was walking across the pavement when an oncoming male runner pushed her into the roadway, sending her falling directly into the path of a moving double-decker bus.

At the time, Sergeant Mat Knowles, who served as the investigating officer, noted that the victim survived solely because of the outstanding and rapid reflexes displayed by the bus driver. The driver, Oliver Salbris, later recalled that he swerved instinctively, explaining that had he failed to steer the vehicle away in that split second, the bus would have crushed her head.

In a chilling detail documented by detectives during the original inquiry, the male jogger returned across the bridge in the opposite direction roughly 15 minutes after shoving the woman. When the victim attempted to approach and speak with him regarding the assault, the jogger ignored her and continued running without stopping.

Following the 2017 incident, police launched a large-scale manhunt that resulted in more than 50 persons of interest being identified across London. Three men were arrested during the early stages of the inquiry, but all three were subsequently released without any charges, prompting the Met to officially close the investigation in 2018 before recently reopening it.

The Metropolitan Police has been approached for formal comment regarding the family's statements, the conduct of the inquiry, and the circumstances surrounding Brandram's death. The tragedy has brought renewed scrutiny to the procedures used by police during cold-case reinvestigations and the severe mental health consequences faced by individuals under active suspicion.