Police custody death 'grossly negligent failure' - court

A jury has heard how a man died in police custody after a "criminally negligent" duty nurse assumed he was faking unconsciousness and failed to check his medical condition properly.

William Cameron, 38, died of a heart attack caused by a mix of alcohol, methadone and other drugs after he was arrested on 8 January 2020, the Old Bailey heard.

Sean Cregg, 36, who was the designated Health Care Professional working at Loddon police station in Berkshire, denies a charge of gross negligent manslaughter.

The jury has been told that, in addition to acquittal, they can also consider an alternative guilty verdict on a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Opening the prosecution, Zoe Johnson KC told the court how Cameron had been arrested at about 01:50 GMT after a row at the flat he shared with his partner Theresa Yearwood.

Both of them, it was said, "lived somewhat chaotic lives due to their abuse of alcohol and other substances".

Police officers were called and decided to arrest Cameron who was handcuffed and whose voice then became slurred.

The jury was shown body-worn video of him being helped into the back of a police van.

When they arrived at Loddon police station he was slumped in the van's cage. He was carried out of the vehicle and placed on a mat in a cell.

The court heard how Cregg was called to make a medical check as Cameron lay on his front and motionless.

The nurse sat in the dock making notes as the KC told the jury at this point Cameron was in a "life-threatening situation".

But she claimed, "Cregg thought Mr Cameron was drunk and faking unconsciousness and did nothing".

Cregg, she alleged, did conduct some tests including squeezing Cameron's trapezoid shoulder muscle, which made him groan, and shining a light into his eyes.

She said Cregg remarked "he has had something nice" which she said was a "flippant" comment that "speaks volumes about Cregg's attitude to the situation" and the man he owed a duty of care to.

"He should have been placed in the recovery position…basic first aid which most members of the public know", she added.

Guidance issued to Cregg by his employer, Mountain Healthcare, called for detainees who could not walk or talk to be transferred to hospital immediately, it was said.

But the KC claimed Cregg allowed Cameron to be left lying on his front and did nothing even when he looked through the cell door's spyhole and saw he was still motionless several hours later.

"This was not an unfortunate 'bad day at the office'. This was a grossly negligent failure by Sean Cregg which led to the death of William Cameron," the court was told.

In a statement to investigators, Cregg said he thought Cameron "had chosen not to engage with the police or myself" and he believed he had only consumed alcohol and not taken drugs.

The prosecution described this as "a lie designed to cover up his catastrophic inaction".

Defending, Selva Ramasamy KC told the jury the duty of care was not Cregg's alone. It was shared with the police custody team, and Cregg did what he thought was right, he said.

The KC said the defendant was aware that Cameron was intoxicated but he was not aware that he had taken drugs.

There is a real possibility Cameron would have died even if he had been taken to hospital, he claimed.

The case, which is expected to last seven weeks, continues.