Death In Police Custody: Cocaine Use A Factor

An inquest into the death of a man who died in police custody has ruled the cause of his death as "misadventure" due to his being in a "cocaine-induced excited delirium".

However, jurors also suggested police failings may have been a contributory factor in his death

Jacob Michael, 25, was arrested for affray at his home in Widnes in August 2011 after allegedly threatening police with a hammer.

He had called police himself claiming he had just been threatened by someone with a gun. When officers arrived, there was a struggle in his bedroom and he was subdued with CS spray and police batons.

The inquest was played CCTV footage which showed a distressed Mr Michael being loaded into the back of a police van in handcuffs. On the video, he appears out-of-breath and can be heard repeatedly apologising to officers.

The jury heard Mr Michael was a cocaine user who would occasionally "binge" on the drug and that he had been taking it the weekend before his arrest.

After arriving at Norton police station, another police video shows four arresting officers carry Michael into the custody suite by his arms and legs while still in handcuffs.

Officers at the station can be seen standing over Mr Michael, one with a foot on his left leg, before Mr Michael becomes motionless and police make several attempts to resuscitate him.

Jurors were told by coroner Nicholas Rheinberg they had to decide whether Mr Michael was treated appropriately and whether "any force used by the police was reasonable and lawful".

Delivering the verdict, the coroner said: "Partying and his heart's susceptibility to cocaine probably contributed to the death."

The jury decided the "fear, flight and fight" response caused during the arrest "may have also contributed to the death".

They also concluded "ineffective" police training, procedural failures, failures to carry out a "timely assessment" of Mr Michael's state and a lack of communication may have also contributed to the death.

Speaking outside the coroner's office, Mr Michael's mother Christine blamed police for her son's death and said the family was disappointed at the verdict.

"He dialled 999, (he) hadn't done nothing wrong," she said. "He should have been left alone for us to deal with. It was an abandoned phone call, they should have just left Jacob and he'd be alive today.

"We didn't have much faith in getting a good result".