Man becomes unwell in custody - Greater Manchester Police, March 2019
On 21 March 2019, two Greater Manchester Police (GMP) police community support officers (PCSOs) were approached in Manchester Piccadilly train station by a member of the public reporting that a man appeared to be attempting to steal bikes. The man was searched and arrested by British Transport Police (BTP) officers, who transported him to a GMP custody suite. The man was then searched again at custody by a BTP officer and then booked in to custody by GMP. He remained in custody overnight, where he was visited on numerous occasions and roused regularly during that time.
The following morning, at approximately 8.56am, an inspector completing a review identified that the man was unresponsive in the cell. A search of the man’s cell revealed a substance believed to be spice (a synthetic form of cannabis) in the cell. A healthcare professional (HCP) was asked to attend and the man was provided with first aid before being taken to hospital, where he made a full recovery.
During the investigation, we reviewed the incident logs, CCTV, the man’s custody record and local/national policy. We also obtained statements given by the attending officers.
Evidence indicated that the search conducted on the man appears to have been thorough. On CCTV, the officer can be seen to search the man’s arms, legs, chest and back over his clothing. The officer appears to search the man’s pockets and around his feet through his socks. The officer is also seen to use a metal detector to scan the man. There was no indication that the man may have taken drugs when arrested or intelligence on police databases that he was known for concealing drugs. A strip search was therefore not requested.
Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.
Our investigation identified two areas of improvement for the force: the first one regarded a fixed obstruction to one of the cameras in the custody suite, which meant that a detainee standing at a particular custody desk could not fully be seen on the camera; the second was around reminding custody staff that information regarding HCP attendance should be recorded in full on custody records.
We completed our investigation in October 2019.
After reviewing our report, GMP advised that the custody suite was closed and being refurbished, and that the obstruction would be fixed with the new refurbishment, and that all custody staff had been sent a reminder regarding recording HCP attendance on custody records.