'My son needed help, not police restraint'

Kaine Fletcher had struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues in the years before his death

"My son was unwell. He wasn't under arrest, he hadn't committed a crime," said his father Nathaniel Ameyaw.

But when a police welfare check escalated into Kaine Fletcher being sectioned in the early hours of 3 July 2022, he was handcuffed, struck and restrained for about 30 minutes.

The 26-year-old - who had paranoid personality disorder - was eventually taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham where he died hours later.

After a four-week inquest into his death at Nottingham Coroner's Court, a jury found "gross failings" by Nottinghamshire Police and others involved with his care contributed to his death.

Mr Ameyaw said the family had been "waiting for answers" about what happened for three years.

'Uncontrolled' combined force

Police attended Mr Fletcher's accommodation at the young people's charity YMCA at 01:55 BST, over concerns he would harm himself.

After agreeing to be taken to hospital by the officers, Mr Fletcher suddenly changed his mind, no longer believing they were really police.

He was then detained under the Mental Health Act.

Mr Fletcher was handcuffed, placed in three sets of leg restraints and had a spit hood over his face as he resisted the numerous officers involved.

He was also hit with police batons and punched in the face during what officers called "distraction tactics" to stop him kicking his legs and biting his own fingers.

Mr Fletcher's medical cause of death was recorded as "the physical affects of exertion following a period of restraint, combined with cocaine and other substances".

The jury concluded the level of restraint by officers was "appropriate" but found officers' combined force was "uncontrolled".

Kaine Fletcher's family said they had waited three years for answers about what happened to him in the hours before his death

'Needed help'

Speaking to the BBC after the evidence concluded, Mr Ameyaw, said: "I am disgusted, and I am convinced, that had [the police] not done what they did for that length of time, Kaine would still be here now."

To him, it looked like his son was being "attacked" in footage recorded by police body-worn cameras.

Mr Ameyaw added: "My son was unwell, he was floridly unwell.

"He wasn't a threat, he hadn't lashed out at anybody, he needed help and at that time, he was in the police's care, and the help he received was what was described as restraint and distraction blows."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct concluded no person serving with the police had committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner that justified disciplinary proceedings.

Mr Ameyaw said it was "infuriating" that even after his son's death in hospital, he was surrounded by police

'Resources weren't there'

Officers had been called to the home of Mr Fletcher's mother the day before his death, as he was experiencing another "mental health disturbance".

It was discussed then that he should be sectioned and taken to a place of safety - a decision his family supported.

But under the guidance of a community nurse, Mr Fletcher was taken back to his accommodation with no further intervention.

His condition deteriorated overnight and led to the police welfare check that started the chain of events leading to his death.

Mr Ameyaw said the inquest highlighted "failure after failure, after failure".

To his close-knit family, Mr Fletcher was a talented young man and a loving father who was always the "life of the party" and "full of beans".

But in the weeks before his death, they said they watched his mental health decline while they pleaded for help.

The 26-year-old was referred to a local mental health team under Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in February 2022, and discharged in June, having received no treatment.

On one occasion, his aunts Kelly and Letitia Fletcher joined Mr Fletcher's father at a mental health hospital where they "begged and pleaded" for him to be admitted.

"Even on that day they couldn't accept him and he was told to come back when they had beds available.

"It was an ongoing fight for help," Kelly said.

Letitia added: "It was really hard. We all tried so hard to get Kaine the help he needed. The resources weren't there."

Kaine was the eldest of eight children to his mum Leah Fletcher, and grew up in a "big and close-knit family" who lived in houses in the same street

'Fast-moving medical incident'

The inquest heard officers had breached a joint policy between police and East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) when they did not call an ambulance once Mr Fletcher was detained.

Officers and ambulance workers told the inquest they were unaware of the policy.

Assistant coroner Alexandra Pountey issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report to both Nottinghamshire Police and EMAS over the "lack of understanding" around the joint policy.

Mr Ameyaw said: "What we want to see change is that other people are treated differently when they're in mental health crisis - not with a heavy-handed approach.

"Not as if they're a criminal or they've committed an offence or they've drank 10 pints and they're being aggressive - because none of those things happened."

Assistant Chief Constable Suk Verma, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "The officers had responded to a challenging and fast-moving medical incident and worked to understand the situation with the information provided by those present and with a primary aim of ensuring the safety of everyone, including Mr Fletcher.

"Making sure we operate in the safest way possible is of paramount importance to us, so a representative from our force has been present throughout the inquest to carefully listen to the coroner's observations."

The force added it would reflect on the findings to ensure it continued to take "all the necessary steps" to keep the public and its workforce safe.

Ifti Majid, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare said: "We accept the findings of the jury and the coroner and apologise for those aspects of care which were not of the standard they should have been."

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