The police shouldn’t get away with killing or assaulting mental health sufferers!
Recently there has been a lot of press coverage about people with mental health issues coming into contact with the legal system and being mistreated before being detained in police cells because there aren’t enough hospital beds to treat them.
Is it right that the police in this country can go around and use mentally ill people to bully and beat up?
What’s worse is the fact that even when the police are caught, unless you have money the IPCC stick up for their own people and lie.
Just to prove I’m not some bitter blogger who wants to slate the police, here are some cases where this has happened:
A recent case that springs to mind are a gentleman with Schizophrenia who was killed by police from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary while in a cell.
I was appalled to hear that the jury found the Police not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
A custody sergeant and two detention officers have been found not guilty of killing a man with mental health problems in police custody.
In 2012, 32-year-old Thomas Orchard was arrested and brought to Heavitree Road police station in Exeter, Devon October 2012.
Mr. Orchard, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was held down, handcuffed and a large webbing belt designed to restrain arms and legs was placed across his face.
Custody Sergeant Jan Kingshott, 45, and civilian detention officers Simon Tansley, 39, and Michael Marsden, 56, insisted their actions were proportionate and lawful.
A jury at Bristol Crown Court found them not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence following a six-week re-trial.
He had not taken his medication for seven days and told a mental health professional he believed he was a vampire and should stay inside during the day.
Mr. Orchard was dealt with by seven police officers and fully mechanically restrained – with handcuffs and straps around his legs – before being placed in a small police van.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Mr. Orchard should not have been placed in the van as it was too small for non-compliant detainees.
None of the defendants recognised that Mr. Orchard was mentally ill and did not check how long he had been physically restrained for – a total of 18 minutes by that point.
If the police are trained to deal with mental health, how did they miss this?
The police officer claimed that Orchard appeared to attempt to bite an officer as he was taken through the door into the holding area of the custody suite.
However, the video footage which was shown on TV saw no evidence of Thomas being violent or a threat.
Mr. Tansley called for an emergency restraint belt (ERB) and wrapped it around Mr. Orchard’s face.
Devon and Cornwall Police had authorised the US-made restraint device for use across the face to prevent spitting or biting.
Police officers should not have the authority to place items onto someone’s face and why were seven officers needed to restrain one person?
Aren’t they specially trained?
The court heard that he shouted “Let go” or “Get off” a total of seven times from 11.24am to 11.26am, struggling violently a minute later.
He was then freed from the restraints and left alone in the locked cell at 11.29am.
CCTV footage showed him lying motionless on the mattress for 12 minutes before officers re-entered the cell at 11.41am.
By that time, Mr. Orchard was not breathing and had suffered a cardiac arrest.
He died in the hospital on October 10.
Below is a breakdown of deaths in police custody (or following other forms of contact with the police, as well as vehicular pursuits and road traffic incidents) since 1990, by calendar year and type.
Total deaths in police custody or otherwise following contact with the police, England & Wales 1990-date
Type Metropolitan Police Other forces Total
Custody 265 786 1051
Pursuit 47 320 367
RTI 20 104 124
Shooting 25 39 64
All deaths 357 1249 1606
Other deaths in Police custody include:
Prison officers acted unlawfully in restraining an inmate who later died
Teenage prisoner killed himself after staff failed to recognise the history of self-harm
Mobile footage shows police detaining Liverpool teen before death in custody – Video
Death of black teenager sparks protests in Liverpool
An NHS inquiry report shows that from 2010 to 2013, there were 367 deaths from non-natural causes of adults with mental health conditions while detained in psychiatric wards and police custody.
A further 295 adults died in prison, many of whom had mental health conditions.
The inquiry found that the same mistakes are being repeated across prisons, police cells, and psychiatric hospitals.
This includes, for example, the failure to appropriately monitor patients and prisoners at serious risk of suicide, even in cases where their records recommend constant or frequent observation.
It also includes failure to remove “ligature points” in psychiatric hospitals, which are known to be often used in suicide attempts.
Another example of police cover-ups was the Hillsborough case, where 96 people died at Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield back in 1987.
In May(2016) last year families of the deceased finally got their justice 27-years after the incident when the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report, which concluded that a major cover-up had taken place in an effort by police to avoid the blame for what happened.
Yes, the police have a job to do by bringing people in to investigate potential crimes, but them the right to assault or heavy-handedly killing mental health sufferers.
Police should not have the right to do this and get away with it, and I feel that giving them the power to use tasers is an absurd idea because the public will feel the need to protect themselves and will be carrying around weapons themselves.
There’s one thing carrying a weapon, but what if it used for the wrong people?
The worst thing is that the Police lie and cover up their wrongdoings instead of telling the truth.
If a member of the public lies to the police, they get charged with Perverting the Course of Justice, but if the police lie to their bosses, their bosses cover up for them.
If you or a loved one with mental health has ever experienced being mistreated by the police, let us know.
What are your thoughts on the evidence of the police killing mental health sufferers?
You don’t have to reveal your real name, but telling your story can really help us prevent this sort of corruption from happening again.
Email admin@looneychickblog.co.uk, comment below, or join in the discussions on our social media channels.