The court was asked to consider whether the IPCC could investigate the circumstances leading to the arrest of a suspect who fell into a coma after being arrested for being drunk. The IPCC appealed, saying that it did not have jurisdiction to investigate matters before the arrest.
Held: The appeal was dismissed. Longmore LJ said: ‘the IPCC pursuant to section 10 and paragraph 14D of Schedule 3 has both a power and a duty to investigate both cases of death or serious injury in custody and cases in which a complaint is made about the police. In the present case there has been a serious injury which manifested itself while Mr Reynolds was in police custody; the claimant has, moreover, made a formal complaint to the IPCC about that matter. That being the case it is a relevant question whether the injury to Mr Reynolds was caused by the conduct of police officers. It is obviously possible that such injury was caused at the time of arrest and detention when Mr Reynolds’ head hit the ground. It is also possible that it was caused at a time before Mr Reynolds came into contact with the police. It is not possible to determine whether the conduct of the police caused or contributed to Mr Reynolds’ injury without, at least, considering any evidence there might be pointing to a competing cause. If that competing cause occurred prior to police contact, that cause must be considered just as much as if that competing cause was during police custody; otherwise the IPCC cannot determine whether the injury was caused or contributed to by the police which is the whole point of the investigation. ‘ and
‘It is . . for the police not the IPCC to conduct investigations into possible criminal conduct of members of the public. But it is for the Commission to investigate possible misconduct on the part of the police. That will often require the Commission to investigate whether death or serious injury was caused by the police or by someone (or something) else. That is an inquiry into causation. ‘
Judges:
Ward, Longmore, Jackson LJJ
Citations:
[2008] EWCA Civ 1160, [2009] ACD 51, [2009] 3 All ER 237
Links:
Statutes:
Police Reform Act 2002 10, Serious Organised Crime Act 2005 160
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Reynolds, Regina (on the Application of) v Sussex Police and Another Admn 16-May-2008
The complainant’s brother had been arrested for being drunk. After a time in a cell, he was found unwell and fell into a coma. Complaints were made of his treatment. The Police Complaints Commission was to investigate the events after the arrest . .
Cited – Stephen Jordan (No 2) v The United Kingdom ECHR 10-Dec-2002
The applicant was a soldier who had been court marshalled for misuse of travel warrants. He wished to use in his defence his recent epilepsy. There was some delay while medical reports were obtained, and subsequently when the new legal system was . .
Cited – Amin, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 16-Oct-2003
Prisoner’s death – need for full public enquiry
The deceased had been a young Asian prisoner. He was placed in a cell overnight with a prisoner known to be racist, extremely violent and mentally unstable. He was killed. The family sought an inquiry into the death.
Held: There had been a . .
Cited – Yasa v Turkey ECHR 2-Sep-1998
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (victim); Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion); No violation of Art. 2; Violation of Art. 2 (effective investigation); . .
Cited – Menson v United Kingdom ECHR 6-May-2003
There had been a racist attack. The victim was set on fire and killed in the street by assailants. His relatives sought compensation. However the assailants were not agents of the state and they were duly prosecuted, convicted and sentenced. No . .
Cited – Angelova And Iliev v Bulgaria ECHR 26-Jul-2007
The applicants were mother and brother of a Roma man who had been stabbed to death by a gang of teenagers. They did not suggest any direct involvement of the state, but complained of inadequacies in the police investigation.
Held: The absence . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Police, Human Rights
Updated: 19 July 2022; Ref: scu.277110