Met Police officers accused of lying at inquest of mentally ill man who died after being restrained
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Two Metropolitan Police PCs are accused of lying to the inquest of a black man who died after being inappropriately restrained by officers while suffering a mental health crisis. PC Danielle Barnes and PC Elizabeth McAleenan are accused of breaches of professional standards over the death of Kevin Clarke in Lewisham on March 9, 2018.
An inquest at Southwark coroner’s court heard Mr Clarke, 35, was heard saying “I can’t breathe” and “I’m going to die” as he was placed in handcuffs and leg restraints by police officers. The restraint lasted more than 30 minutes, and he was forced walk towards the ambulance despite concerns over his declining health and being handcuffed.
He died from acute behavioural disturbance, in a relapse of schizophrenia, leading to exhaustion and cardiac arrest, and a coroner concluded inappropriate restraint by Met Police officers had contributed to the death. PC Barnes, based within the Met’s South East Command Unit, and PC McAleenan, from the Central West Command Unit, are both accused of “failing to execute their duty to ensure a member of the public’s welfare”.
And it is alleged they gave evidence to the inquest under oath “which was both dishonest and lacked integrity”. “It is alleged that in acting this way PC Barnes and PC McAleenan have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour and that this conduct, if proven, amounts to gross misconduct in that it is so serious as to justify dismissal”, a notice of the misconduct hearing reads.
