Two Met Police officers face accusations of dishonesty during an inquest into the death of a mentally ill man after police restraint
Lewisham: So, there’s this serious situation involving two Metropolitan Police officers. They’re being accused of lying during the inquest of a man named Kevin Clarke, who tragically died after being restrained by the police.
Kevin was having a mental health crisis when the incident happened back in March 2018. He was just 35 years old. The inquest revealed that he was saying things like “I can’t breathe” while officers had him in handcuffs and leg restraints.
It’s really concerning because the restraint lasted over 30 minutes. Even when he was struggling, they made him walk to the ambulance. Sadly, he died from a combination of exhaustion and cardiac arrest, which a coroner said was partly due to the way the police restrained him.
The two officers, PC Danielle Barnes and PC Elizabeth McAleenan, are accused of not doing their job properly. They’re also said to have given false evidence during the inquest, which is a big deal. If proven, this could lead to serious consequences for them.
A misconduct hearing is set to start on January 20, and it’s been a long road for Kevin’s family. They had to push for an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct after the inquest raised a lot of questions.
It turns out there were some issues with how the police handled the situation. For instance, when they tried to move Kevin, he collapsed twice, but no one checked on him. The restraints were still on when he went into cardiac arrest.
There’s been a lot of frustration over how the police managed the whole thing. They even had to apologize for not informing the IOPC about a previous misconduct hearing. It’s a mess, really.
Now, the local police commander has promised to look into these matters seriously. They’re reviewing their policies on restraint and how to help people in mental health crises. It’s a tough situation, and the community is understandably affected.
Despite all this, the IOPC didn’t send any files to the Crown Prosecution Service, so no criminal charges have been filed against the officers. It’s a complicated case, and many are hoping for justice for Kevin Clarke.
