Interaction between a man and police - Essex Police, August 2017

On 20 August 2017 Essex Police arrested a man on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. As the man was brought to the ground, he hit his head. Paramedics arrived and the man was taken to hospital. He was discharged by hospital staff without treatment and taken to a custody suite, where his detention was authorised. Approximately an hour and a half later, during a cell check, he was difficult to rouse. A paramedic was called to the custody suite. The man was taken to hospital and found to have two fractures to his skull.

During the investigation, investigators obtained witness statements from police officers, paramedics and civilians. They also viewed CCTV from the local authority and the custody suite. The man said he did not want to make a complaint against police and had no recollection of the incident.

The man had been assaulted before his interaction with the police and there was insufficient evidence to establish whether he had sustained the injuries to his head, in whole or in part, before his contact with police officers.

The investigator found no indication that any person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.