Investigation finds actions of police in Gloucestershire detention were reasonable

31 May 2018 06:39 PM

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into the detention of Mark Kentish shortly prior to his death at Lydbrook in Gloucestershire has found the actions of police officers were reasonable and proportionate, based on the information they had been provided with prior to their arrival at the scene.

We investigated the circumstances of the Gloucestershire Constabulary contact with Mr Kentish, 55, of Solihull, who died at Stowfield Business Park in the early hours of 23 June 2016.
 
Police attended at around 11 pm on 22 June after reports from two members of staff employed at the site that Mr Kentish was intoxicated and acting aggressively, and on arrival found he was being held down by the members of staff. Officers initially handcuffed Mr Kentish on the ground as a precaution given the reports of his behaviour prior to their arrival. They soon assessed that Mr Kentish would require medical assistance and called for an ambulance.
 
Following removal of the handcuffs there was a sudden deterioration in his condition to which officers responded quickly by providing first aid until the arrival of paramedics. Paramedics arrived by around 11.25 pm but sadly Mr Kentish was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after midnight.

IOPC regional director Derrick Campbell said: “I send my condolences to Mr Kentish’s family and everyone else affected by his death. Our investigation found the actions of officers that night were reasonable. They reacted quickly to a change in Mr Kentish’s condition and performed CPR in an attempt to save his life before an ambulance arrived.”
 
During the investigation we interviewed the three officers who attended and other witnesses, and examined police radio recordings and incident logs. The police officers were treated as witnesses throughout the investigation and there was no indication of misconduct.
  
Our investigation was completed in June last year but issuing our findings has awaited an inquest.

At Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court on Wednesday 30th May. a jury returned a narrative conclusion and gave the cause of death as the stress and struggle against restraint combined with other medical factors including an existing coronary condition.