A police officer testified that a man in custody seemed breathless before losing consciousness, raising concerns about the incident.
London: A Metropolitan Police officer is facing serious allegations regarding the death of a man in custody. During a misconduct hearing, Pc Elizabeth McAleenan said the detainee, Kevin Clarke, appeared “out of breath” just before he lost consciousness.
Clarke, who struggled with paranoid schizophrenia, died in 2018 after being restrained by multiple officers. The panel is looking into whether McAleenan and her colleague, Pc Danielle Barnes, failed to ensure Clarke’s welfare during the incident.
At the inquest, it was revealed that officers might have heard Clarke say “I can’t breathe” multiple times. However, both officers deny hearing those words. McAleenan described the scene as chaotic, with many officers and radios making it hard to hear Clarke.
She insisted that if she had heard him say he couldn’t breathe, she would have alerted her colleagues. McAleenan, who had only been on the force for six months at the time, reviewed her body camera footage numerous times but didn’t realize Clarke might have been saying those words until it was brought up during the inquest.
She acknowledged the risk of positional asphyxia but claimed they turned Clarke on his side to help him breathe. The hearing is ongoing, and the situation raises important questions about police conduct and accountability.
