Police contact with a man before his death – North Yorkshire Police, April 2024

A mental health advisor contacted North Yorkshire Police to report a man had told them that he was planning to end his life that night. 

The police told the mental health advisor to contact the Yorkshire Ambulance Service as they were the most appropriate agency to deal with a medical matter. An ambulance went to the man’s home and the ambulance staff spoke with him. He refused treatment and would not go to hospital.

The man was later found dead within his home from a suspected heroin overdose.

We received a death or serious injury referral from North Yorkshire Police. 
We did not investigate the man’s death as that was a matter for North Yorkshire Police and His Majesty’s Coroner. However, we investigated North Yorkshire Police’s interaction with the man before his death, including the nature and extent of police contact; whether the decisions and actions of the police were in accordance with force policies, procedures, guidance and training; and whether there was any evidence the police may have caused or contributed to the man’s death. 

We obtained copies of police and ambulance service incident logs, 999 call recordings, and police policies relevant to dealing with such incidents. 

We reviewed this material and considered North Yorkshire Police’s officers and staff actions against relevant policies and training. We found they had complied with them as required.

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. 

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 in this case.