Man died while in police custody – Nottinghamshire Police, June 2017
Recommendation date: 17 March 2022
Response due: 17 March 2022
Published: 17 March 2022
Custody and detention
In June 2017, a man was arrested in a park off Sandy Lane, Mansfield on suspicion of a drugs offence shortly after 8pm. He was taken to Mansfield Police Station where he was later found unresponsive in his cell after a routine check the following morning. Paramedics attended and he was sadly pronounced dead at 5:13am that day. We investigated the circumstances surrounding the man’s death, the medical care and treatment he received, and the decisions made by custody officers and staff when conducting checks and whether they were in accordance with local and national policies. We examined evidence, which included custody suite CCTV footage, custody records along with medical reports. We also interviewed police officers and staff to obtain their accounts. The evidence obtained indicated the care which had been provided may have fallen below the required standard in the monitoring of their state during their detention. Our investigation …
Recommendations (2)
Recommendation 1
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that Nottinghamshire Police amends its custody assessment process to include a specific question about whether the detainee has any allergies. Where a detainee has indicated they have an allergy this information should be visible to all custody … Read more
Force Response
Accepted action: Nottinghamshire Police have accepted this recommendation. An additional question is now asked at the point of booking in by the duty custody Sgt of a detained person. A mandatory question in relation to allergies is now asked :‘Do … Read more
Recommendation 2
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that Nottinghamshire Police remove the option of a drop-down menu when entering cell observation entries onto the custody log, or otherwise introduce a prompt to the system which reminds detention officers of the need to input further … Read more
Force Response
Accepted action: Nottinghamshire Police accepts the recommendation to introduce a prompt which reminds detention officers of the need to input further information once an option has been selected. We have reviewed all of the drop down boxes and wording contained … Read more