Man’s death at Gatwick Airport investigated by IPCC

all credits: BBC News
published: 8th February 2012

The death of a man following an incident at Gatwick Airport is being investigated by the police watchdog. 

Sussex Police were called to reports of a man acting strangely at a shop in the South Terminal at about 02:50 GMT. 

They spoke to the foreign-speaking man via a telephone interpreter before escorting him to the station concourse. [It was reported that] the man then tried to take his own life using a bottle he had broken.

Police tried to restrain him as first aid was given but he died in an ambulance. Investigators from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) are examining the circumstances leading up to his death because of the contact officers had.

Ch Supt Paul Morrison, of Sussex Police, said: “This is a traumatic event and Sussex Police is co-operating fully with the IPCC on an investigation, which still in the early stages.

“It was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as police had contact with the man before his death.” He added that the incident was not terrorism-related.

The IPCC said police officers had deployed a taser during the incident at the station. It said it would be speaking to any witnessess, taking initial accounts from officers and reviewing any relevant CCTV footage during its investigation.

Police believe they know the identity of the 33-year-old man, who sustained a serious wound to his neck. A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out.

The station concourse was closed for several hours following the incident shortly after 03:30 GMT.

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Posted by Gaynor Kuye on 16/02/2012. Filed under Custody Deaths,Mental Health & Others. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry