Woman dies following contact with police - Cheshire Constabulary, November 2017

In November 2017 two Cheshire Constabulary police officers attended the report of an intoxicated woman who had ‘passed out’ in a neighbour’s garden. The officers escorted the woman back into her house before departing.

Two days later a neighbour contacted Cheshire Constabulary reporting concern for the woman’s welfare. Police officers arrived and found the woman dead in her home.

During the investigation, investigators reviewed the relevant 999 calls, incident logs, police radio transmissions and policies. They reviewed mobile phone photographs and footage. Investigators also obtained accounts from several witnesses and from the two officers who attended the incident. We served the two officers with notices that their conduct was under investigation for possible breach of the standards of professional behaviour in the area of Duties and Responsibilities.

Both officers stated that they asked the woman several times whether she had any injuries, whether she wanted an ambulance, whether there was anyone they could call for her and whether there was anything else they could do to assist her. The officers also explained several other actions that they completed inside her home and their rationales for doing so, for example, searching the property, moving bottles into the kitchen. They also stated that the woman had asked them to leave her home.

We were of the opinion that, while accepting that the woman was intoxicated, after assessment, the officers did not consider that her level of intoxication was such that she required either medical attention or could not be safely left alone in her own home. We considered that their view was not so unreasonable that it could be deemed to be misconduct.

Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.