Ex-soldier inquest: 'Veteran died after police Taser'

Spencer Beynon was discharged from the army on medical grounds

An Iraq and Afghanistan veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder died after being Tasered by police, an inquest has heard.

Spencer Beynon, 43, was discharged from the Army on medical grounds before his death on June 14, 2016.

A jury heard how in his final hours Mr Beynon, from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, terrified his parents.

He tightly hugged his father, said he could see the devil in him and would try to get it out, the inquest heard.

The hearing, at Parc y Scarlets, was told he used cannabis daily and occasionally took amphetamines.

He had received treatment from psychologists and expressed suicidal thoughts but in more recent years reported he was happy.

'Time machine'

In a statement his girlfriend Victoria Key, who has since died, said while he had become calmer in the years before his death she had become concerned about his behaviour.

Two days before his death he had picked her up from work and driven more than 100mph (161km/h) on the motorway, calling her car a "time machine".

The day he died Ms Key said Mr Beynon was waiting on the doorstep in his dressing gown when she came home from work.

He got straight into her car and drove them to his parents' house so he could tell them they were getting married.

An inquest heard he died after being tasered by police

"Spencer was very excited and full of energy," she said. "He was displaying energetic behaviour, talking loudly."

His father Chris came home and Mr Beynon got up and hugged him.

"He was hugging his father tightly," said Ms Key. "He said 'I can see the devil in you and will try to get it out'.

Bag of cannabis

"His mother was getting upset, they had not heard him talk like this before."

Mr Beynon's mother, Margaret, asked her son to take a bag of cannabis he had brought with him from the house and asked him to leave.

She later texted Ms Key asking her not to bring him back as he "terrified them".

After sleeping for a few hours Ms Key and Mr Beynon were woken by a friend.

Mr Beynon's behaviour grew more erratic. He told another friend she had the devil in her, before lighting incense in a room and drawing crosses.

Ms Key said Mr Beynon smoked more cannabis and his mood changed.

He left the house barefoot, shouting: "If you don't get out of my way I'll kill you."

He was later found in Llanelli surrounded by people and ambulances. A police officer told Ms Key that he was dead.

The inquest was played a call from Mr Beynon's father to Dyfed-Powys Police. He called them an hour-and-a-half after his son had visited.

He told the call handler what had happened that morning, saying his son had "terrified" him and his wife.

'He needs to be sectioned'

"It's been absolutely insane here this morning," he said.

Mr Beynon senior said he wanted the drugs squad to intervene and arrest his son, adding "he needs to be sectioned".

Giving evidence to the hearing, police call handler Mandy Crowdy said she tried to put Mr Beynon through to the drug enforcement department but there was no answer.

The call was given the lowest priority as there was no immediate threat to life and the caller was not vulnerable.

Asked why she didn't add Mr Beynon's comments that his son needed to be sectioned, she said: "That wasn't what Mr Beynon was calling about."

The inquest is expected to last two weeks.