A police officer called to the home of a mother and four children hours before they were murdered in an arson attack has told an inquest she thought the killer was making "empty threats".
PC Gemma Quinn told Bolton Coroner's Court she did not think it necessary to arrest Zak Bolland "there and then" after Michelle Pearson made a 999 call saying the 26-year-old had threatened her son and her home on Jackson Street in Walkden, Salford.
Four of Michelle's children were murdered in the arson attack on 11 December 2017. Michelle, 37, died in August 2019, after being badly burned.
Quinn, a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer of 14 years, told the court she planned to arrest Bolland when she was next on shift two days later.
"I carry the guilt every day," she said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen."
A tearful Quinn said: "I have not done front-line policing since."
Demi Pearson, 15, her brother Brandon, eight, and sisters Lacie, seven, Lia, three, died at their Walkden home in December 2017.
Bolland and David Worrall were jailed for life in 2018 for the murder of the four children, and in 2021 were also convicted of Michelle's murder.
Bolland was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 40 years and Worrall was sentenced to life with a minimum of 37 years in jail.
An inquest began on 5 October to examine the contact Michelle had with police and social services in the weeks leading up to the fire.
It was scheduled to last eight weeks.
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."
She left Jackson Street around 02:30.
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.
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