Man dies while in police custody - Metropolitan Police Service, September 2018
On 17 September 2018 Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers attended a report of an attempted burglary in Bexleyheath, south-east London. When they arrived, they encountered a man in the porch area of a property who displayed disorientated behaviour and would not communicate with the officers. An ambulance was requested. Officers tried to reach out to the man several times to encourage him to move towards them, but he did not respond and then started to resist. Officers then used force to remove him from the property. They applied handcuffs and placed the man on his side in a police van while monitoring him.
The man’s condition deteriorated and officers removed him from the van and commenced cardiopulmonary resuscitation while waiting for paramedics to arrive. When they did, the man was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Our investigators attended the scene of the incident and conducted an examination. We obtained witness statements from police officers and members of the public. We reviewed body-worn camera footage from officers and analysed it in detail.
A post-mortem was conducted and a report produced, which concluded that the man had died of acute cocaine toxicity caused by the toxic effects of an acute overdose of cocaine.
In our opinion, the force used by MPS officers from their initial interactions through to the point the man was removed from the police van was reasonable, justified, proportionate and necessary in the circumstances. Evidence indicated that the officers had reasonable grounds to suspect the man had committed a criminal offence; the man did not respond to the officers and actively resisted to attempts to restrain him. In addition, the man’s behaviour indicated that his actions, if he were to be unrestrained, could have posed a risk to himself, the officers and others.
We were also of the view that officers appropriately monitored the man and recognised that his behaviour may have been as a result of acute behavioural disorder, and acted in accordance with MPS policy for him to be treated as a medical emergency; officers provided him with sufficient medical care, and promptly recognised when his condition deteriorated, responding immediately while keeping the MPS control room updated.
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.
We completed our investigation in April 2019 but waited until the inquest into the man’s death had concluded, in winter 2019, to publish its outcomes.