Man becomes unwell in custody - Metropolitan Police Service, February 2018

On 25 February 2018, the Metropolitan Police Service was called to an incident in east London involving alleged domestic violence between a young man and a relative in front of other family members. Throughout the course of the interaction with the police, body-worn video (BWV) showed that the man became increasingly agitated and that he did not follow the officers’ instructions. He was restrained by an officer, who brought him to the ground. BWV then showed the young man sustained a small cut near to his eye, which may have occurred when he was taken to the ground, as there was no visible injury before the restraint.

The man was taken into custody. His custody record showed he collapsed in his cell 20 minutes after he was booked into custody. It also showed that, following an assessment by the medical examiner, he was deemed unresponsive. He was taken by ambulance to hospital, where he was examined, given the all clear and discharged back to custody.

Investigators viewed the BWV of both officers who attended the incident. They also examined custody desk footage and CCTV of the man in his cell, as well as his custody record. The young man and his family declined to provide statements.

There was no evidence that officers used excessive force when restraining the man, or that his care and risk assessment in custody were unsatisfactory. Evidence indicated that officers complied with national and local policies and procedures.

Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any officer or staff member concerned committed a criminal offence or behaved in a way which would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

The evidence suggested that one officer did not pass on all relevant risk information to the custody sergeant at the point of handover. We recommended that the officer may benefit from learning in relation this point.

After reviewing our report the force agreed that the officer would receive management action. The force also identified another officer who they decided should receive informal learning in relation to appropriate sharing of risk information.