8 January 201419 December 2022 4WardEverUK

‘We called for help, and they killed my son,’ North Carolina man says

originally by: CNN.com
published: 7 January 2014

Seventy seconds: That’s how long a North Carolina family says it took for things to go horribly wrong as they sought police help dealing with their mentally ill son.

Keith Vidal, 18, died Sunday. According to CNN affiliate WECT, he was just shot 1 minute and 10 seconds after a third law enforcement officer showed up at his Brunswick County home.

The three officers all were from different jurisdictions, and family members say that the third officer (who came from a nearby city) turned what had been an improving situation into an unnecessarily aggressive encounter that ended in their son’s death.

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17 November 201317 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Man detained under Mental Health Act by Surrey police dies in hospital

originally by: The Guardian
published: 14 November 2013

A man who was detained under the Mental Health Act has died in hospital after his condition deteriorated at a police station. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating Surrey police following the death of 33-year-old Terry Smith.

The ambulance service requested police help just after 10pm on Tuesday after being called to an address in Stanwell, Surrey.

Smith was held under the Mental Health Act and taken to Staines police station where he was then arrested on suspicion of a drugs-related offence. His health deteriorated and he was taken from the station by ambulance to St Peter’s hospital in Chertsey, where he died at around 9pm on Wednesday.

12 November 201317 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Prisoner on suicide watch took overdose of medicine

originally by: Oxford Mail
published: 12th November 2013

A prisoner on suicide watch took a fatal overdose just days after burning the initials DNR for ‘do not resuscitate’ into his chest, an inquest has heard.

David Ward, 45, was serving 18 years at Bullingdon Prison, near Bicester, for eight counts of rape and two of sexual assault on a teenage girl.

He had a history of mental health problems and, in August last year, used an incense stick to burn the initials in two-inch high letters into his chest. Although he was put on suicide watch, he was able to overdose on anti-depressants and pain medication.