Drunken man placed in coma after police error
A DRUNKEN man was placed in an induced coma due to a lack of oxygen shortly after police officers thought he was feigning illness, a report has found.
The man, who had been drinking whisky, was arrested and handcuffed before being carried out of his mum’s house as he was ‘physically unresponsive’.
A report produced by the Independent Office for Police Conduct concluded that the man should have been taken straight to hospital as he was drunk and incapable.
The IOPC said that none of the West Yorkshire officers appeared to comply with police guidance which says that anyone who is ‘drunk and incapable’, unconscious or suffering from any other medical condition requiring urgent attention should be taken straight to hospital.
The incident happened on November 29, 2017, when a woman called West Yorkshire Police to request help with her adult son, who was refusing to leave her home. The report does not reveal where the incident happened or the names of those involved.
When police officers arrived, the woman told one of them that her son was alcohol-dependant and had been drinking a bottle of whisky throughout the previous night, and was refusing to get up. She said she wanted him to leave her home and find alternative accommodation.
The officers spoke to the man and asked him to leave, but he was unwilling or unable to respond to the officers’ instructions.
The man was arrested for a breach of the peace and handcuffs were applied. As the man was physically unresponsive, the officers carried him out of the house and into a police van, so he could be taken to the local police station.
However, en route, the officers realised the man was unwell and drove him to hospital instead. The man received treatment for hypoxia (deficiency in oxygen) and was placed in an induced coma for approximately 48 hours.
The IOPC, which interviewed the four officers who attended the scene, found that one officer had obtained information about the man’s medical condition from his mother but had not passed it on to the other officers who arrived afterwards.
The man’s condition deteriorated rapidly, leading officers to believe he was feigning illness, the IOPC said.
“Three of the officers had failed to turn on their body-worn video (BWV) during the incident, and one of the officers turned it on and off throughout the incident, which was not in line with policy,” the IOPC report said.
The report added: “Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that the performance of three officers had been unsatisfactory for failing to turn on their BWV and taking the man straight to hospital, as per guidance.
“We also found that the performance of the officer who had not passed on valuable information about the man’s condition to colleagues had also been unsatisfactory. We found that the fourth officer, who took the decision to drive the man to hospital when realising he was unwell in the police van, had acted appropriately in the circumstances.”
The IOPC concluded: “After reviewing our report, West Yorkshire Police agreed that all three officers would receive management action, to include words of advice regarding communicating information, guidance when dealing with persons considered to be ‘drunk and incapable’, and force policy on the use of BWV.
“The investigation highlighted a lack of awareness in officers of the guidance regarding dealing with members of the public who may be intoxicated.
“As a result, West Yorkshire Police advised our report would be shared with their Training and Development and Custody Policy units so that appropriate training can be put in place.”
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the IOPC report confirmed what action the force had taken following the investigation.