Mohamud Mohammed Hassan: Investigation says no Taser used

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan died hours after being released from police custody

An investigation has found no evidence a Taser had been used on a man who died hours after leaving police custody.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is looking into South Wales Police contact with Mohamud Mohammed Hassan from Cardiff.

His family claimed the 24-year-old was assaulted in custody and protests were held following his death in January.

Mr Hassan was arrested at his home on 8 January, released without charge the next day and died that night.

One officer has already been served with a misconduct notice as a result of the investigation.

Hilary Brown, a lawyer who is representing Mr Hassan's family, has called for the officer's immediate suspension.

The IOPC said it was sharing the latest update given "significant" public interest.

Director for Wales Catrin Evans said: "We are aware that there is a lot of speculation about the circumstances surrounding Mr Hassan's death and we now know that some of that is inaccurate.

"As a public body we have a duty, when we are able, to try to correct misinformation that may be in the public domain."

"Having listened to the original emergency call from the evening of Friday 8 January we know that officers attended the flat in Newport Road in response to a caller who said that five men had entered the address and were fighting with the five occupants within the property.

"The officers' body worn video footage shows that on arrival a number of the occupants had injuries, and officers sought explanations about where the injuries came from.

"From a search of the flat, reviewing footage, officer accounts, pathology information, and an audit trail of Taser use within the South Wales Police force area we requested, there is no evidence to suggest that Mr Hassan was Tasered at any stage either prior to or during his detention.

Zainab Hassan said there were many unanswered questions about her nephew's arrest and what happened after

She said the IOPC was still gathering accounts from a total of 46 police officers and staff who were on shift or working in the area at the time.

"There is much more work to do to complete our investigation and our investigators continue to gather and review evidence to help us establish the events leading up to Mr Hassan's death.

"As our review of this material nears completion, we intend to move on to scrutinise street and private footage which has been secured, which we hope will assist in identifying Mr Hassan's movements following his release from custody, and may open up further lines of enquiry.

"An investigation like this does take time and we would ask people to be patient while the investigation runs its course."

Campaigners have called for CCTV and police bodycam footage to be made public, which the IOPC has refused to do citing the possibility it may be needed for potential criminal, misconduct, or inquest proceedings.