Home UK Jury rules Rashan Charles death ‘an accident’

Jury rules Rashan Charles death ‘an accident’

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An inquest into the death of a man who died after he was chased by police has been branded a farce by his family.

A jury found the death of Rashan Charles was an accident following a justified use of force.

Mr Charles, 20, died in hospital in the early hours of 22 July 2018 following a chase by an officer into a shop in Dalston, east London, where he was tackled to the ground and restrained.

Paramedics removed a "golf ball-sized" package, later found to contain a mixture of caffeine and paracetamol, from his throat.

A jury of three women and seven men returned a narrative verdict on Wednesday.

They found Mr Charles died of a cardiac arrest and upper airway obstruction by a foreign body while being restrained.

Reading their conclusions, Coroner Mary Hassell said: "Rashan's death was an accident, which occurred by virtue of deliberate human actions on the part of Rashan, the police officer who chased him and a civilian bystander, which unexpectedly and inadvertently led to the death of Rashan."

Image: A man lights candles next to flowers left after Rashan Charles' death

The jury found the officer's restraint was a "justified use of force".

But they said he did not follow Met Police protocol by taking "immediate and appropriate action in the face of a medical emergency", and had not managed the involvement of the civilian bystander.

But the omissions did not make a difference to Mr Charles' death, said the jury, which added: "Rashan's life was not salvageable at a point prior to which the medical emergency was readily identifiable."

Speaking before the verdict was returned, Mr Charles' great uncle, retired Met Chief Inspector Rod Charles, 54, said he had no faith in the inquest process, which had "descended into farce".

He said the jury had been "shackled" by the coroner, who had removed all "pejorative" options.

"This inquest, I've said from day one, is a farce. I have due respect for the jury… but I have rafts and waves of concerns with the process."

Mr Charles senior, who worked in the Met for more than 30 years, said: "I have had to listen to implausible evidence at times, and at times downright lies."

He was critical of the use of expert witnesses, who have years of experience working for the Met Police, claiming their evidence was "not impartial and not objective".

Disturbances broke out of Mr Charles died
Image: Disturbances broke out after Mr Charles died

Mr Charles said: "I will not stop with this case while I'm still breathing," and added that the family would look at all other legal options.

The incident triggered protests in the area and an investigation by the watchdog now known as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) was launched.

The officers involved in the detention were granted anonymity during the inquest at St Pancras Coroner's Court.

They were referred to in court as BX47 and BX48 as they gave evidence from behind a black curtain.

The force said the constable who detained Mr Charles, known only as BX47, has been on restricted duties since the incident.

He told the inquest he had feared Mr Charles was in possession of a weapon following a chase into the shop after he was seen running from a dark-coloured Ford Focus which he believed was suspicious.

The officer said that following a struggle he used a "seatbelt" hold to take Mr Charles to the floor.

He then tried to get him to open his mouth, first by pressing his jaw and then by pushing on his abdomen.

The officer, responding under questioning, said he did not follow parts of his first aid training when dealing with the incident.

He admitted he probably should have called for an ambulance sooner.

Video evidence was shown in court
Image: Video evidence was shown in court

When asked why he had not asked Mr Charles if he was choking, or deemed him to be needing immediate medical attention and called an ambulance, BX47 said: "That would probably be that I was not aware he was choking.

"He was not exhibiting the signs I would have been looking for, which all made the situation harder to gauge."

A second officer, referred to as BX48, said she arrived on the scene shortly after BX47 had called for back-up and found Mr Charles was still breathing and had a pulse.

The officer, a qualified police medic, said she would not have done anything differently, after using an oropharyngeal airway, or a plastic tube, in an attempt to try to help Mr Charles breathe before beginning CPR.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took no further action against one officer after considering a common assault charge following a referral from the IOPC.

Mr Charles' family are to ask the CPS to review the decision.

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin, who is responsible for professionalism, said: "The death of anyone after involvement with police is a matter of deep regret and our thoughts and sympathies remain with all those affected.

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"Having listened to all the evidence, the jury found that the officer that day lawfully and justifiably apprehended and restrained Mr Charles.

"When it became apparent Mr Charles was in difficulty, first aid and CPR was carried out but nothing the officers could have done would have saved his life."

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