Man lost consciousness while in police custody – South Wales Police, August 2018

On 30 August 2018, South Wales Police received intelligence that a man was selling illicit drugs from a bus stop in, Swansea. Two officers attended this location, identified the suspect and attempted to detain him to carry out a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Two wraps of suspected illicit drugs and two mobile phones were dropped at the scene of the arrest after a struggle between the man and the two officers. The man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and taken into custody at Swansea.

At the custody desk, the man told the custody sergeant that during arrest an officer had struck him to the head several times. He disclosed no other mental or physical health issues or illnesses. In light of the allegation, a nurse was called to custody to examine the man’s health.

The man was then taken to be strip-searched as officers were concerned he may have hidden drugs in his underwear or body, but he lost consciousness before this was completed. He was assessed by the nurse and paramedics were called. He regained consciousness but was subsequently taken to hospital. There was no evidence of the man having a head injury but officers suspected that the man may have swallowed or packed (inserted into his body) opioid drugs.The man was kept under observation by officers but did not pass any drugs and made a full recovery from his loss of consciousness.

The IOPC attended the scene and carried out house-to-house enquiries with residents and office workers who may have witnessed the arrest of the man.
We reviewed body-worn video footage and obtained witness statements from the arresting officers and other officers who attended the scene and dealt with the man in custody. We also obtained witness statements from the paramedics and nurse who treated the man in custody.

Our investigation concluded in May 2019.

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. From reviewing the evidence, we determined that the arresting officers’ use of force to detain the man was necessary, reasonable and proportionate, and that the restraint was carried out appropriately with regard to ensuring the man could breathe freely.

One officer received words of advice for the manner in which he spoke to the man in custody, which we considered to be disrespectful and discourteous.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

We did not identify any organisational learning, but the investigation was considered as part of a wider piece of work we did to study stop and search cases nationally.