Investigation following death in custody in Essex

28 Nov 2017 12:46 PM

The IPCC has begun an independent investigation into Essex Police following the death of a 55 year old man in police custody on Sunday 19 November.

The man, from Grays, Essex was arrested by officers at around 8pm on Sunday on Stifford Road, South Ockendon. He was then taken to Grays police station.

While in police custody he became unwell and an ambulance was called. He was taken to Basildon Hospital where he later died.

The IPCC have contacted the man’s family and informed them of our role. IPCC investigators went to Grays police station on the Sunday night. Early accounts were obtained from the officers involved. Door-to-door witness appeals have been conducted in the area where the man was arrested and the CCTV from the police station custody suite has been obtained for analysis.

IPCC investigators also attended the post-mortem performed on Monday but the cause of death has not been determined and further tests are being undertaken.

IPCC Operations Manager Colin Dewar said: “This is a serious incident in which a man has sadly died and it is right that the IPCC investigate to determine what happened.

“We have met the man’s family and my thoughts are with them at this difficult time. We will be updating them and HM Coronerthroughout our investigation.”