Habib Ullah death: Police misconduct claims 'not proven'

Habib Ullah, 39, of Slough, Berkshire, was part of a group searched as they sat in a car in High Wycombe in 2008.

Five officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with the death of a man during a drugs search.

Habib Ullah, 39, of Slough in Berkshire, died after he was searched by police in High Wycombe in 2008

Mr Ullah collapsed and went into cardiac arrest during the search and was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Thames Valley Police decided five officers had claims of gross misconduct to answer. The cases against all five were found "not proven".

Each had been accused of gross misconduct for allegedly breaching "standards of professional behaviour".

'Tragic loss'

The alleged breaches involved altering the statements they made after Mr Ullah's death in 2008.

The case was brought by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

After the case, IPCC Assistant Commissioner Guido Liguori said: "The IPCC is not a judge or jury and despite our findings that five officers had a case to answer for gross misconduct they have today been cleared by a police tribunal.

"The IPCC works tirelessly to improve the way police deal with deaths in custody.

"This investigation showed the importance that should be placed on effective post-incident management and securing early testimony from the officers involved."

The IPCC referred its investigation report to the Crown Prosecution Service which, in August 2014, decided not to bring any criminal proceedings against any of the officers.

An inquest jury in March 2015 recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

The Justice4Paps twitter feed, run by a group campaigning for justice over Habib 'paps' Ullah's death, described the hearing as a "complete whitewash".

Mr Ullah's cousin Zia Ullah said the family was planning to launch civil action against the police.

"We are disappointed, although, after eight years, we are not surprised [by the hearing's decision]," he said.