Simeon Francis: Police 'did not breach standards' over man's cell death

Simeon Francis died in a policy custody cell in Torquay last year

A police force did not breach professional standards after a man died in his cell, an investigation found.

Simeon Francis was arrested by Devon and Cornwall Police on 20 May 2020 and taken to Torquay police station..

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which launched an investigation into his death, said Mr Francis, 35, died from epilepsy.

However it recommended the force "urgently consider" its training for custody staff.

The IOPC said it had considered "Mr Francis' arrest and transport to custody, the level of care provided to him in custody and the police response when he became unwell".

It said a misconduct notice handed to one officer was dropped following further investigation.

An inquest into Mr Francis' death will be held

The IOPC said the evidence surrounding Mr Francis's death "did not indicate he was discriminated against due to his ethnicity".

It said the decision to take Mr Francis to Torquay police station "was based on the assessment that he could not be safely accommodated at Exeter custody suite because of the number of detainees there who had high medical needs".

The IOPC said Mr Francis had a known heart condition and presented other risks.

IOPC regional director, Catrin Evans said: "While we did not find that any person serving with the police has a case to answer for breaching police professional standards, we did recommend that Devon and Cornwall Police urgently consider the training and awareness in place for custody staff."

Ms Evans said the training should be on Police National Computer warning signals for health conditions and the system in place for checking that custody staff are using these markers.

The IOPC said its findings had been submitted to the coroner and would be published following the conclusion of the inquest into Mr Francis's death.

The IOPC is also investigating a video from July 2019 showing Mr Francis saying "I can't breathe" during a previous arrest in Exeter, Devon.

A spokesman said that investigation began after the investigation into Mr Francis' death in custody and was not yet concluded.