Other Custody Deaths

4WardEverUK

Custody death: Misconduct hearing call

Lloyd ButlerRelatives of a man who died in custody have called for the officer who dealt with him to face misconduct charges. Lloyd Butler, 39, from Birmingham, died after being arrested when his family called police because he was drunk.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigated his death, in 2010, but have not made their report public.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell backed Mr Butler’s family, saying the IPCC report shows he was given “unacceptable” care.

Mr Butler died within hours of being put in a cell in Stechford police station, at 1215 BST on 4 August. Officers checked on him at 1515 BST and then started first aid. He was taken to hospital but declared dead. Police referred the death at Stechford police station to the IPCC, who began investigating on 5 August.

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4WardEverUK

Cops pledge CCTV in police vans after campaign

CCTV VAN DRIVERLondon’s Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe has announced his intention to install CCTV cameras in all police cars and vans. 

This has been a demand of the families of those who have died in police custody for many years.

Hogan-Howe told the LBC radio station, “If we misbehave it will capture it, but, equally, for the people who misbehave or make false allegations, it will capture it.” But he added, “We have got to have a conversation with our staff because they may feel threatened by that.”

A number of custody deaths are believed to have taken place in police vehicles. And campaigners believe the cameras will help provide evidence in future cases. One such death was Sean Rigg at Brixton police station in 2008.

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Larry Fedja

Unproven science used to ‘explain’ custody deaths

Doctor in the labA controversial unproven syndrome with roots in the US is being used in British coroners’ courts to explain why people die after police restraint. 

‘Excited delirium’ or ‘sudden-in-custody-death-syndrome’ is a niche diagnosis not yet recognised by the World Health Organisation or any international authority.

A number of leading pathologists have expressed concern about the use of the term in inquests. Listen to Programme >

Individuals in the throes of ‘excited delirium’ are described as aggressive, agitated, displaying bizarre behaviour, insensitive to pain and with superhuman strength until they collapse and die

But research by the Bureau has found that the ‘condition’ has been used by coroners to explain 10 restraint-related deaths that occurred in police custody in England and Wales since the late 1990s. 

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