Investigation into police contact before death - Devon and Cornwall Police, July 2021

Our investigation found that Devon and Cornwall Police officers treated a woman in custody, who died soon after in hospital, in line with policies and procedures. A woman became unwell in a cell at Charles Cross custody suite in Plymouth at around 4.30pm on 3 July 2020. CPR was administered by custody staff and a healthcare practitioner. She was taken to hospital, where she died the following morning. The woman had been arrested at an address in Weston Mill Road and taken into custody at around 1.30pm on 3 July. A small plastic bag containing traces of white powder was later found by hospital staff secreted internally on her person. A post mortem concluded that she had died due to the effects of cocaine. At the end of a four-day inquest in Plymouth in spring 2024, a jury returned a narrative conclusion. Issuing our findings has awaited the end of …