Two Metropolitan Police officers who claimed they did not hear a restrained man, who was near death, say he could not breathe, have been exonerated of gross misconduct charges.
PCs Danielle Barnes and Elizabeth McAleenan faced allegations of neglecting to safeguard the wellbeing of a civilian after Kevin Clarke, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, passed away at Lewisham Hospital in 2018.
They were also accused of providing false testimony during an inquest regarding Mr. Clarke’s death in October 2020.
Mr. Clarke’s family expressed “deep disappointment” when a misconduct panel determined there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that either officer heard him say, “I can’t breathe,” and subsequently failed to take appropriate action.
Catherine Elliott, the chair of the panel, stated that they could not definitively conclude that Mr. Clarke uttered the phrase “I can’t breathe,” which consequently meant that a misconduct finding could not be established.
Ms. Wendy Clarke and Ms. Tellecia Strachen, the mother and sister of Mr. Clarke, observed the proceedings from the public gallery as the hearing concluded.
Ms. Strachen commented: “There is a flaw in the system—the system is not functioning properly.
“This is disrespectful to my brother as a human being. I feel an immense amount of anger and disappointment, and I believe this has been a pointless exercise.”
Mr. Clarke died in March 2018 after an incident in Catford, south-east London, where the 35-year-old was found lying on the ground in a playing field, exhibiting unusual behavior.
Assessing it as a “serious mental health episode,” the officers opted to restrain Mr. Clarke with handcuffs and leg shackles.
He lost consciousness while being transported to an ambulance and subsequently experienced cardiac arrest.
In October 2020, an inquest jury concluded that the police’s decision to restrain Mr. Clarke “intensified the situation to a medical emergency,” noting it was “highly likely” that at least one officer heard him say “I can’t breathe” multiple times.
During the misconduct hearing, Ms. Elliott acknowledged that the findings of the inquest were “accurate” and “undisputed.”
“It is possible that the words ‘I can’t breathe’ were expressed on a few occasions.
“However, due to the way they were spoken, one could not be certain.”
She further noted there was “no indication” that any officers present at the scene heard these words and remarked that it would be “extremely unusual” for any of the officers to have heard them and ignored them.
After the hearing, family lawyer Cyrilia Davies Knight stated, “Regrettably, the family had little hope for justice as they believe this system is fundamentally incapable of ensuring accountability, especially regarding deaths in police custody.
“This outcome, while heartbreaking for them, was, in their view, foreseeable.”
