Police response exacerbated death, inquest told

A man who broke into a care home in Cornwall died of heart failure minutes after being restrained by police, an inquest has found.

Godrick Osei, 35, broke into Tregolls Manor in Truro in July 2022 and blockaded himself in a bathroom before five police officers forced their way in.

An inquest jury heard Mr Osei had earlier drunk alcohol and taken cocaine and cannabis, which left him feeling "ultra paranoid and believing people were after him".

The jury returned a narrative conclusion on Friday that "Godrick's death was caused by heart failure related to acute behavioural disturbance (ABD) and associated drug and alcohol misuse and mental health difficulties (PTSD)".

The jury concluded his ABD "was exacerbated by the use of illicit substances and alcohol and psychological distress he experienced with his interactions with the police".

ABD symptoms can include extreme agitation, paranoia, rapid breathing and sweating.

The inquest heard how police did not recognise the symptoms in Mr Osei, which could exacerbated by restraint.

"Terrified" staff called police after Mr Osei burst into the care home, where 18 elderly residents were sleeping, at about 02:00 BST on 3 July.

He was handcuffed to the front of his body for two minutes, during which time he suffered a medical episode, the inquest heard.

The handcuffs were removed and police gave Mr Osei CPR and mouth-to-mouth before paramedics arrived and took over, but he did not survive.

Mr Osei's family, who attended the week-long hearing at Cornwall Coroner's Court, claimed he was kicked by one officer, which the officer denied.

His family also questioned whether he was the victim of racial profiling as he was black and all the officers were white.

Lewison Osei said her brother was a "big friendly giant", but admitted he was "battling his demons", which included illicit drug misuse and mental health issues.

Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Deborah Cook said Mr Osei has taken cocaine, heroin products and cannabis but not to lethal levels.

She said he was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and possible PTSD, and suffered hallucinations from his heavy daily use of class A drugs.

"His cause of death was acute behavioural disturbance (ABD) associated with cocaine use," she added.

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) director Derrick Campbell said: "My sympathies go out to Mr Osei's family and everyone affected by his sad death.

"We thoroughly investigated police contact with Mr Osei during the dynamic circumstances that unfolded early that morning.

"Our investigation found that police use of force during the incident was justifiable and that officers largely treated the situation as a medical episode once they could see Mr Osei, who was in a panicked and distressed state.

"While we found no indication of any wrongdoing by police, we decided the performance of one police constable was unsatisfactory in that he did not speak to Mr Osei, who was in a mental health crisis, respectfully and could have shown greater sensitivity when moving him.

"Having applied our discrimination guidelines, we found insufficient evidence to support a finding that any officer's conduct towards Mr Osei, who was black, was motivated either consciously or unconsciously by racial bias."

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