Three police officers are to be prosecuted over evidence they gave into the death of a student who had a fatal heart attack after being forcibly detained under the Mental Health Act.
The Crown Prosecution Service is to charge three officers with perverting the course of justice and perjury over the death of Kingsley Burrell in 2011.
Burrell, 29, had a covering placed over his face and was left handcuffed for hours on a hospital floor while in police custody in Birmingham.
In May last year an inquest jury found that the student died as a result of neglect by police officers and ambulance staff, who were accused of restraining him unnecessarily and failing to provide basic medical attention.
West Midlands police said the three police constables – Paul Adey, 36, Mark Fannon, 45, and Paul Greenfield, 50 – had been suspended following the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision. They are due to appear at Birmingham magistrates court on 31 October. They were accused by Burrell’s relatives of giving misleading evidence to the inquiry at Birmingham coroner’s court.
In a statement, Burrell’s family said they welcomed the decision to prosecute the three officers “in the belief that they must be publicly held to account for their actions in the circumstances surrounding the death of Kingsley.
“This has been a long time coming and the fight for justice for Kingsley continues. At this stage we have no further comment.”
Burrell was taken into custody after calling police to say he was being threatened with a gun while shopping in the centre of Birmingham. However, CCTV footage showed he was not being followed and he was detained under the Mental Health Act.
Burrell suffered a fatal heart attack four days later at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham after a violent struggle with police officers in the back of an ambulance.
At the inquest jurors were told that Burrell had wet himself and was left handcuffed on the hospital floor for five or six hours while waiting to be assessed.
Following six weeks of evidence, jurors found that prolonged restraint and a failure to provide basic medical attention led to Burrell’s death.
The jury said there was a gross failure to provide or procure basic medical attention in response to an obvious need before Burrell died of brain damage following a cardiac arrest on 31 March 2011.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: “Following a referral by the IPCC we have decided there is sufficient evidence to charge three officers from West Midlands police with perverting the course of justice and perjury in connection with the death of Kingsley Burrell in 2011.
“The officers and the family of Mr Burrell have been informed. Criminal proceedings involving the three police constables will now be commenced and each has a right to a fair trial. It is important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice that trial. For these reasons it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
