Investigation report into the death of a Liverpool teenager published

12 Dec 2019 12:34 PM

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) yesterday (11 December 2019) published a detailed report following our investigation into the actions of Merseyside Police prior to the death of 18 year-old Mzee Mohammed-Daley in July 2016.

On the evening of Wednesday 13 July, police officers responded to reports that a man, later identified as Mr Mohammed-Daley, was behaving erratically and had been seen carrying a knife, before he was detained by Liverpool One staff at a kiosk in the city centre.

Merseyside Police attended the scene and restrained Mr Mohammed-Daley, who was later transferred to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital where sadly he was later pronounced dead.

A jury inquest, held in Liverpool, concluded yesterday and recorded a verdict of natural causes.

Our investigation, completed in March 2018, gathered a significant amount of evidence including:

• police officer and staff accounts
• CCTV and police body-worn video footage
• mobile phone footage from a member of public
• witness statements from members of the public
• evidence from the paramedics who attended the incident
• the opinion of three medical experts
• NPCC guidance regarding personal safety, restraint and handcuffing
• evidence from an expert regarding personal safety training

The investigation also found evidence that information given to a call handler wasn’t recorded appropriately. We highlighted learning for the member of staff to better record information in order for it to be passed to officers dealing with incidents.

We received two complaints about Merseyside Police from Mr Mohammed-Daley’s family. The first complaint concerned the way in which Mzee was restrained; this was addressed as part of our investigation. The second complaint alleged that some officers were being disrespectful during the period of time when he was being restrained. The complaint was not upheld, but we relayed to Merseyside Police that officers should be mindful of how their behaviour, during such incidents, might appear.

IOPC Regional Director Amanda Rowe yesterday said:

“Mzee’s family and friends have suffered greatly since his tragic death. I have seen the footage of Mzee on the day he passed away; it is difficult to watch, and I cannot comprehend how painful this must have been for his loved ones. On behalf of the IOPC I offer our sincere condolences for their loss.

“Today we published a detailed report which reflects our robust investigation; we looked very carefully at how and why Mzee was restrained.

“The evidence we gathered did not indicate that any officer committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. We concluded that the decision to restrain him was based on a number of risk factors and this complied with guidance, policy and training.

“We had hoped to conclude this very complex investigation sooner than we did, however unforeseen but necessary changes to the investigation team, together with the need to obtain a number of expert reports extended the length of time taken.

“Our priority was always to ensure that our investigation followed all available lines of enquiry and provided a detailed analysis of the police’s actions in the lead up to Mzee’s death. The complexity of the circumstances surrounding his death has been highlighted during this lengthy inquest.”

The final report and summary of the conclusions can be found here: https://policeconduct.gov.uk/investigations/mzee-mohammed-daley-merseysi...