Spanish police ‘neglect’ after father died in cell
DAD FOUND DEAD AFTER BEING ARRESTED OVER ARGUMENT ON FAMILY HOLIDAY
POLICE in Spain have been slammed by a jury for ‘neglecting’ a prisoner who died in a cell after his arrest following an argument on a family holiday.
Antony Abbott, 36, from Halliwell, Bolton, was discovered ‘unresponsive’ with a ligature around his neck in a cell at Benidorm police station in October 2015. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was arrested in the foyer of the Palm Beach Hotel following a petty argument over money for a cigarette lighter with his longterm partner Catherine Abbott in their room. Ms Abbott told an inquest jury at Bolton Coroners Court that ventilation company worker Mr Abbott had been drinking as he played with his children during a reptile show for children at the hotel.
He shouted: “You Spanish b ******* - you’ve never forgiven us for the Armada,” as he was led away by police.
Ms Abbott, who described him as a ‘fun-loving person with a zest for life,’ said she knew he wouldn’t have meant to have taken his own life and questioned the actions of the police.
The jury has now returned a verdict of misadventure ‘contributed to by neglect’ on the part of the Spanish police, who they said had failed to implement calls to improve safety at the station.
Coroner Jennifer Leeming said she would write to the Foreign Office and raise the case to protect other holidaymakers abroad.
In a narrative conclusion, jurors said that Mr Abbott was ‘unobserved’ for 18 minutes after he was put in the cell. There was no CCTV inside or along a custody suite corridor and no buzzer system to attract attention inside his cell.
The station had also received a series of safety improvement recommendations just months before the tragedy after a trade union inspection. They included installing additional CCTV surveillance. A report also said there should be manned surveillance of cells at all times until the improvements were carried out.
But the jury said: “At the time of Antony’s death, there is no evidence that any of these recommendations had been implemented. There was evidence to support that Antony was planning for life in the future.”
Speaking after the inquest, Ms Abbott said: “I know that Tony did not mean to take his own life and I’m relieved that the jury recognised that. It is clear the police did not do things as they should and sadly this was not the case for Tony.
“Police should be trained in basic CPR and the space where people are held must be safe.”