Officers acted ‘appropriately’ prior to man’s death
An independent investigation has found that police officers acted appropriately in their interaction with a drunk man, who was later found dead in his flat.
A report published today (February 25) by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) found that the man’s “subsequent death could not have been foreseen” after officers had escorted him to his nearby home.
In the early hours of July 18, 2020, members of the public had alerted Police Scotland to the 34-year-old man lying in the street in a town in the Northern Isles.
When the officers approached the man they found him asleep and under the influence of alcohol. Having roused him, the man was found to be aware of his surroundings and understood what the officers were saying to him.
After the officers helped the man to his feet, he was able to walk unaided with them to his nearby flat, where they left him alone. About 2pm that day, a friend of the man went to his home and found him dead.
“Given that the man was able to communicate with the officers, provide his address and walk mostly unaided, the officers determined that he was not so inebriated to arrest him for being drunk and incapable,” said the PIRC.
The PIRC investigation found that the man died in his flat sometime between 1am and 2pm on July 18, as a result of taking Buprenorphine and a designer drug called Flubromazolam.
“CCTV footage shows various sightings of the 34-year-old man in the company of friends throughout July 17, 2020 and leaving a friend’s flat in the early hours of the July 18, prior to being found by members of the public and the officers,” said the PIRC.
On July 19, 2020, Police Scotland referred the incident to the PIRC.
The PIRC investigation focused on the police contact with the man until he was found deceased within his flat.
PIRC investigators obtained witness statements from the police officers and examined STORM Command and Control incident logs, Airwave communications, briefing papers and viewed private space CCTV.
“The investigation found that in the circumstances the officers acted appropriately and the man’s subsequent death could not have been foreseen. Although the man was drunk, the officers decided he was capable of taking care of himself. CCTV evidence also shows the man was capable of walking unaided,” said the PIRC.
“It cannot be ascertained if the man consumed the drugs that led to his death prior to or after his contact with the police.”