Man arrested over Putney Bridge jogger attack eliminated from police inquiry

A man arrested on suspicion of pushing a woman in front of a bus while jogging across a London bridge has been released without charge and eliminated from a police investigation.

Eric Bellquist, 41, was arrested by the Metropolitan police on Thursday (10 August) on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm following the incident, which took place on Putney Bridge in south-west London on 5 May this year.

But, 48 hours after news of the arrest was announced, the Met police said they had released Bellquist and eliminated him from the investigation.

Bellquist's lawyer said at the time of his arrest that he "categorically denied" being the man in the video, and has "irrefutable proof" that he was in the United States at the time of the incident.

The shocking incident, made public when CCTV footage from passing buses was released by police earlier this week, saw a male jogger apparently push a woman into the road as she walked by in the opposite direction.

A following bus was forced to swerve out of the way, narrowly avoiding the 33-year-old woman as she fell backwards into its path. The bus stopped to allow passengers to attend to the woman, who suffered minor injuries.

Footage shows the jogger return around 15 minutes later, but he does not stop or acknowledge the woman.