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Police cleared over death in custody of Nadeem Khan
AN inquest into the death of Nadeen Khan in police cistody at Burnley has concluded today with a narrative verdict.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission can disclose today the findings from its investigation into the death of Nadeem Khan.
The IPCC independently investigated Mr Khan's death and determined that, about 8-50 a.m. on Saturday, June 30th, 2007, police began to receive emergency calls from the public about a man who was damaging property in Brierfield. The callers reported the man - 28-year-old Nadeem "Dean" Khan, from Blackburn - was displaying violent and irrational behaviour.
Police detained Mr Khan, who violently resisted arrest, outside a hairdresser's shop in Burnley Road about 8-55 a.m. PAVA spray was used twice and it took five officers to restrain Mr Khan and place him into a van.
Mr Khan was taken to Burnley Police Station, arriving about 9-20 a.m. Due to his continuing violence, Mr Khan was immediately taken to a cell and a decision made to remove his upper clothes, but during this process he stopped breathing.
Police officers tried to resuscitate him and an ambulance was called about 9-30 a.m., arriving at 9-36 a.m., with both paramedics and officers battling to save Mr Khan's life at the police station for about 35 minutes. The ambulance, driven by a police officer to allow the paramedics to work on Mr Khan, left Burnley Police Station about 10-15 a.m.
Mr Khan was taken to Burnley General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10-33 a.m.
A subsequent post mortem examination determined Mr Khan died as a result of excited delirium caused by cocaine toxicity.
The IPCC concluded the arrest of Mr Khan was lawful and justified and the restraint techniques used were in line with policy and procedure. But the investigation did identify the need for officers to be trained in the identification of the rare condition of excited delirium.
IPCC Commissioner Naseem Malik said: "Nadeem Khan's death prompted concerns among the local community. It is apparent he was a well-known figure in the community and understandably Mr Khan's family had a lot of questions they needed answers to. I would like to extend my sympathies to them again for their loss.
"Speculation around Mr Khan's death did not help. It is clear selective information was passed to the media and the community which fuelled concerns and raised community tension. Unfortunately the IPCC was not in a position to counter this speculation either due to the ongoing investigation or due to concerns about prejudicing the coronial process.
"Now I am able to do so I am confident our findings answer all the questions put forward following the incident.
"In this incident I do not believe the individual officers can be blamed in any way for the death of Mr Khan. They had not been trained to identify or deal with excited delirium, but treated the situation as dealing with an irrational and violent individual who needed to be taken to a safe place for assessment.
"They were front line officers dealing with a volatile and difficult situation. It is questionable whether, even if the officers had identified Mr Khan's symptoms, he could have been treated. His aggressive and volatile behaviour would have posed a risk to staff and patients. The officers acted with the best of intentions in taking Mr Khan to custody where they believed he could be assessed in a secure environment.
"However, while it is unclear whether it could have made a difference in this incident, I do believe our investigation reinforced the need for Lancashire Constabulary and other police forces around the country to realise the real risk of their officers having to deal with individuals suffering excited delirium and put appropriate training in place to assist their front line staff. I know this has happened in Lancashire meaning officers who come across this rare condition in future will be better prepared to be able to deal with it."
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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