WIREDGOV

The IPCC investigation into the circumstances surrounding police contact with Joseph Phuong, prior to his death on 5 June 2015, was completed in May 2016.

The investigation concluded that none of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers who came into contact with Mr Phuong, 32, of Twickenham, in the hours prior to his death had breached standards of professional behaviour.

Having considered all of the evidence gathered, the investigator was of the opinion that a number of officers exhibited commendable conduct in the face of challenging circumstances.

MPS officers were first called out to attend a suspected attempted burglary in the early hours of 4 June 2015 in Twickenham. The officers encountered Mr Phuong, who they assessed was suffering from mental health difficulties.

He would remain in the care of the police for almost 22 hours, in transit, at Springfield Hospital, St George’s Hospital and at Kingston Police station.

Tragically a short while after officers were finally able to transfer Mr Phuong into the care of mental health professionals at Springfield Hospital, Tooting, he died.

On 4 October 2017 an inquest jury found Mr Phuong’s medical cause of death unascertained and delivered a narrative determination. 

The determination was critical of the medical assessment made of Mr Phuong while in police custody and the lack of fluency and compassion shown by officers in ‘how to deal with mental health detainees and specifically acute behavioural disorder. It was also critical of the level of information handed over between shifts but concluded that these failings did not contribute to Mr Phuong’s death.

The jury determined that the admissions procedure at Springfield Hospital was unsatisfactory and that the observations of Joseph were ineffective in several respects and ‘possibly contributed to his death’. The ‘chaotic response to the subsequent medical emergency’ it found ‘probably contributed to his death’.

As part of its investigation the IPCC recommended the MPS should consider if the current processes in place best capture information regarding a detainee’s physical health when they are transferred direct from custody to a mental health institution. The MPS agreed with the proposed recommendation.

IPCC Operations Manager Neil Orbell said:

“MPS officers found themselves having to care for a vulnerable and clearly unwell man for a protracted period.

“The situation they found themselves in was challenging and the extensive CCTV we examined, covering their interactions with Mr Phuong, showed they recognised he was suffering a profound mental health breakdown and appeared to be doing their best to assist him.

“It is my hope that any lessons learnt from the tragic death of Mr Phuong can help prevent further deaths in the future.

“The IPCC has recently issued national recommendations to policing authorities on how to treat members of the public suffering from mental health issues.

“My thoughts go out to Mr Phuong’s family and all those affected by his death.”

The IPCC provided the MPS and Mr Phuong’s family with a copy of our report.