IOPC investigating man's death following arrest in Croydon

We are investigating the death of a man in police custody in Croydon earlier this month.

The man, aged 30, was arrested in Croydon town centre by Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers in the afternoon on Saturday 15 July and was taken to the Croydon Custody Centre.

We have established that later that evening, custody staff noticed the man appeared unwell. First aid was given and an ambulance was requested, with the London Ambulance Service arriving within minutes.

CPR was provided and the man was transported to hospital, where sadly he was pronounced deceased shortly afterwards.

After being notified by the Metropolitan Police, we sent investigators to the Croydon Custody Centre and to the police post-incident procedures to begin gathering evidence.

A post-mortem was completed on Wednesday and we await further results.

IOPC director Steve Noonan said: “Our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends. We have been in contact with family members and close friends in the UK and we understand the man has immediate family overseas. We will also be contacting them to explain our role and will keep them updated throughout the investigation.

“Given the man has fallen unwell while in police custody and died, it’s important that an independent investigation is carried out to establish all of the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the actions and decision-making of the MPS custody staff present.”

As part of our initial enquiries, our investigators have secured CCTV from the custody centre, which we are currently reviewing and we are in the process of obtaining accounts from the custody staff involved.