Man self-harms after contact with police - Greater Manchester Police, October 2017

On 8 October 2017 two Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers went to an address in Greater Manchester, to arrest a man for theft. The man lived in supported accommodation and had diagnosed mental health issues. Having arrived at the man’s home to make the arrest, officers heard what they believed to be the sound of blister packs being opened and, on accessing the property, found the man to be in possession of a large quantity of medication and blister packs. As the man appeared to be agitated and anxious, and after reassessing the risk he presented to the victim of the original crime, the officers decided not to arrest him and left him in the care of the support staff at his accommodation.

Following the officers’ departure, the man was taken ill and taken to hospital, where he was discovered to have taken a large overdose of medication. He recovered after a period of time spent in intensive care on life support.

We interviewed the man and the officers who interacted with him on 8 October. We also reviewed body-worn video of the incident. Our investigators took accounts from staff involved in the man’s care at his supported accommodation, and his mental health support worker.

Evidence indicated that officers did not speak to the man’s support worker before going to arrest him, and missed out on an important opportunity to be provided with information they could have used when assessing how best to deal with the man’s vulnerabilities. We also found no evidence that either officer gave consideration to safeguarding the man following their visit.

Based on the evidence available, we were of the view that the performance of the two officers who went to arrest the man was not entirely satisfactory, and that they should receive management action.

After reviewing our report GMP advised that the report would be shared with both officers. Both will be required to re-complete relevant training, including ‘mental health and learning disability awareness’, and to review the multi-agency safeguarding arrangements in place within their districts.

GMP also informed us that they would share our report with its organisational learning team to consider any learning in relation to neighbourhood safeguarding awareness.

We agreed that their proposals were appropriate.