WIREDGOV

Lancashire Police officers involved in detaining a man who then fell ill and died acted in line with their training and guidance, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation found.

Peter Howieson, 52, was stopped in Blackburn town centre on 24 March 2020 by an officer who planned to search him for suspected drugs. After seeing Mr Howieson place what he believed to be an illegal substance in his mouth, he attempted to stop him swallowing the item.

The officer used force to restrain Mr Howieson, striking him and taking him to the ground before handcuffing him with assistance from two members of the public.

A short time later, the man became unresponsive and officers called an ambulance and began CPR. Mr Howieson was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital, where he later died.

At an inquest last week, the jury found his death was caused by a combination of natural causes and misadventure. Mr Howieson suffered from a pre-existing condition, a colloid cyst, which was unknown to the officers, that meant a sudden movement could be fatal.

Following the hearing, we are now able to report the findings of our investigation, which concluded in March 2021.

We obtained statements from the officers involved, who were treated as witnesses throughout, as well as members of the public. We also reviewed CCTV footage of the incident and spoke to an independent expert who advised the officer’s use of force in the circumstances was proportionate and reasonable.

Officers who turned up after Mr Howieson had been handcuffed told us he was conscious and alert when they arrived. They began CPR and used a defibrillator to try and revive him after he stopped breathing.

We found that the officer who restrained Mr Howieson could not reasonably have foreseen that he was suffering from the medical condition or how that would impact the risk of using force in that situation.

IOPC Regional Director Amanda Rowe yesterday said:

“This was a tragic situation that led to a man losing his life. Our thoughts are with his loved ones and all those affected by Mr Howieson’s death.

“Our investigation was independent of the police and helped understand the actions of officers who interacted with Mr Howieson before he died. We found them to be appropriate and there was evidence that several of those present made significant efforts to save Mr Howieson once it became clear he was unwell.

“Our work ensured the actions of police were properly scrutinised and our findings were provided to the coroner to assist with the inquest. Having considered the evidence, the jury agreed that that officers acted lawfully.”

We also identified learning for the force, which had no policy in place for officers when carrying out searches of a person’s mouth. Following our investigation, this was incorporated into training for officers.