Man becomes unwell after arrest - West Yorkshire Police, November 2017
On the morning of 29 November 2017, a woman called West Yorkshire Police to request help with her adult son, who was refusing to leave her home. When police officers arrived, the woman told one of them that her son was alcohol-dependant and had been drinking a bottle of whisky throughout the previous night, and was refusing to get up. She said she wanted him to leave her home and find alternative accommodation.
The officers spoke to the man and asked him to leave, but he was unwilling or unable to respond to the officers’ instructions. The man was arrested for a breach of the peace and handcuffed were applied. As the man was physically unresponsive, the officers carried him out of the house and into a police van, so he could be taken to the local police station. However, en route, the officers realised the man was unwell and drove him to hospital instead. The man received treatment for hypoxia (deficiency in oxygen) and was placed in an induced coma for approximately 48 hours.
During our investigation we interviewed the woman and obtained a statement from her. The man also provided a statement. We carried out house-to-house enquiries and checked for any relevant CCTV evidence. We seized and examined police body-worn video (BWV) footage, as well as police audio and written communications, regarding this incident.
Our investigators also interviewed the four police officers who had attended the scene and dealt with the man under notice that their conduct was under investigation.
We found that one of the officers had obtained information about the man’s medical condition from his mother (captured by BWV) but had not passed it on to the other officers who arrived afterwards. The man’s condition deteriorated rapidly, leading officers to believe he was feigning illness. None of the officers appeared to comply with police guidance which says that anyone who is ‘drunk and incapable’, unconscious or suffering from any other medical condition requiring urgent attention should be taken straight to hospital.
Three of the officers had failed to turn on their BWV during the incident, and one of the officers turned it on and off throughout the incident, which was not in line with policy
Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that the performance of three officers had been unsatisfactory for failing to turn on their BWV and taking the man straight to hospital, as per guidance. We also found that the performance of the officer who had not passed on valuable information about the man’s condition to colleagues had also been unsatisfactory.
We found that the fourth officer, who took the decision to drive the man to hospital when realising he was unwell in the police van, had acted appropriately in the circumstances. We completed our investigation in September 2018.
After reviewing our report, West Yorkshire Police agreed that all three officers would receive management action, to include words of advice regarding communicating information, guidance when dealing with persons considered to be ‘drunk and incapable’, and force policy on the use of BWV.
The investigation highlighted a lack of awareness in officers of the guidance regarding dealing with members of the public who may be intoxicated. As a result, West Yorkshire Police advised our report would be shared with their Training and Development and Custody Policy units so that appropriate training can be put in place.