Partner sobs ass here calls hours before boyfriend was found dead in police cell

THE girlfriend of a man who died in custody wept in court yesterday as she was questioned about the time leading up to his death.

David McGowan (28) was found dead in his cell at Lisburn police station after he and his girlfriend were arrested outside a flat in east Belfast.

Sergeant Brian McKenna was the custody officer who processed both Mr McGowan and his girlfriend after their arrest on the evening of May 29, 2014.

He is standing trial at Belfast Crown Court on two charges — causing Mr McGowan’s manslaughter and of misconduct in a public office. He has denies both.

On the second day of the trial, Kirsty Pinkerton was called to give evidence. She confirmed that in May 2014, aged 24, she was in a relationship with Mr McGowan and lived in east Belfast.

She also confirmed she was ar- rested for breaching bail and for breaching a non-molestation order on the night in question by causing an incident at her former partner’s flat.

When police arrived at the incident at the Beersbridge Road, Ms Pinkerton was arrested for the breaches, while Mr McGowan was arrested for disorderly behaviour, resisting police and assaulting police.

The jury has already heard that, around three hours after arriving at Lisburn, and after telling a member of staff he wanted to see a doctor and had taken 40 tablets, Mr McGowan was pronounced dead in Cell 5 at 1.47am on Friday, May 30, 2014.

A post mortem revealed he died of “upper airway obstruction due to inhalation of gastric contents, due to toxic effects of alcohol and drugs”. It was also revealed a tramadol tablet was recovered from his trachea.

Ms Pinkerton became emotional several times as she recalled spending the day of May 29, 2014 with Mr McGowan and another man. She said that between them, they consumed three litres of Strongbow cider, three 10-glass bottles of vodka which were stolen from Lidl and a range of substances including cannabis and diazepam.

When asked about the incident at her ex’s flat which led to the arrest of both her and Mr McGowan, Ms Pinkerton said she had very little recollection. When she was shown CCTV footage of her arrival at Lisburn, and asked about it, Ms Pinkerton said: “I don’t even remember being in the police station.”

The CCTV footage, which is accompanied by audio, shows Ms Pinkerton being booked in by Sergeant McKenna. It also shows her making a phonecall to her mother and asking several times whether her boyfriend could be put in the cell next to her.

She is also asked about visible injuries, which she said were sustained in a fall, and at one point asked officers “what station am I in?”

Asked about the footage, from the witness box Ms Pinkerton again said she had no memory of being in the police station.

The court heard she did, however, make a subsequent statement in which she said: “His last words to me were that he loved me. I take great comfort from the fact these were David’s final words and were spoken minutes before his death, around 1am.”

In the footage, Sgt McKenna can be heard telling Ms Pinkerton: “This is the best custody suite in the province.”

When she raised concerns about medication, Sgt McKenna says: “The doctor will come and see you. This is the best run place in the world. Not a problem.”

Under questioning by Mark Mulholland QC, the barrister representing Sgt McKenna, Ms Pinkerton said she couldn’t recall Mr McGowan being violent and aggressive to police during the arrest in east Belfast.

Ms Pinkerton said she “vaguely” remembered consuming drugs including diazepam prior to her arrest and, while she initially denied seeing Mr McGowan consuming anything other than cannabis, she admitted it was “possible” he could have taken diazepam, tramadol and Pregabalin.

When asked about her interaction with Sgt McKenna when she arrived at Lisburn, Ms Pinketon agreed when Mr Mulholland asked if he had been sympathetic.

Mr Mulholland then suggested that Sgt McKenna was comforting and supportive to her.

When Mr Mulholland said that Sgt McKenna acted in a professional manner, Ms Pinkerton replied: “I don’t know exactly what happened to David, so I wouldn’t say professional.”

At hearing.