Police given final written warning after man with broken legs was strip searched and left naked in cell

Disciplinary action has been taken against police officers and civilian staff after a man with broken legs was strip searched and left naked in a cell for five hours.
The new Humberside Police Station at Clough Road.The new Humberside Police Station at Clough Road.
The new Humberside Police Station at Clough Road.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, who carried out an investigation into the detention of the 49-year-old, said his treatment at Clough Road police station in February 2014 had been “wholly unacceptable.”

It turned out later on that the man, who spoke little English, had been the victim of a false allegation.

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A nurse assessed the man who had been bought to the station and was still in the police van.

But despite him pleading and showing signs of distress when moved, he was dragged into the custody suite area.

He was then strip searched and left naked in the cell.

His requests for medical attention were ignored until an inspector carrying out a custody review called a doctor and an ambulance was summoned. In hospital he was found to have fractures to both legs.

Humberside Police disciplinary hearings found the two arresting PCs, Edmund Richardson and Kevin Dodgson, who dragged the man into the custody suite, had not shown an appropriate level of concern or treated him with courtesy and respect.

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They were given final written warnings along with two police sergeants, David Beer and Nicholas Hunt who were found to have failed to obtain medical care for him and to have either taken or allowed a haphazard approach to the strip search and seizure of clothing.

Another hearing found that a member of police staff, the detention officer who booked the man into custody, had failed to treat him with courtesy and respect. The detention officer also received a final written warning but is appealing.

Two detention officers, also police staff, were also given verbal warnings by the force while another will be subject to management action.

IPCC Commissioner Carl Gumsley said: “Following a thorough and independent investigation by the IPCC, the disciplinary process has clearly found that this man was treated in a wholly unacceptable way whilst he was detained at Clough Road police station. It is important that such matters do not go unchallenged and that those who are responsible are properly held to account.”

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Humberside Police now assign a designated custody officer to each detainee and say they have enough tracksuits in stock for detainees whose clothing is seized.

Assistant Chief Constable Lee Freeman said: “Humberside Police assisted the IPCC fully in their investigation.

“The police officers and staff involved in this matter have faced misconduct procedures and have now been dealt with appropriately with the exception of one detention officer who is currently going through the appeal process.

“The IPCC report has made two recommendations for the force which we have noted and acted upon.

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“All prisoners now have one clearly designated officer assigned to them on arrival in the custody suite to ensure the best level of care is provided.

“We also believe we have a sufficient stock of tracksuits now available to ensure we do not run short as happened on this occasion.

“Annually around 18,000 people are brought into the custody suites across the force and the vast majority pass through without incident.

“Many of those who come into custody have a range of issues for custody staff to consider including drug and alcohol problems, mental health difficulties and other concerns which can make it a very difficult environment to manage.

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“All police officers and staff who work within the custody suites are involved in regular training and when incidents such as these occur we ensure any lessons learned are shared with staff to reduce the risk of similar occurrences happening again.”