30 March 201015 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Coker Family Statement follows inquest

submitted by: Ken Fero
published: 3rd March 2010

The family of Paul Coker who died in police custody on 6th August 2005, today welcomed the verdict of the jury at Southwark Coroners’ Court which was highly critical of the care and treatment Mr Coker received from the police and the police doctor.

The jury found Mr Coker was suffering with a form of Excited Delirium (otherwise known as Acute Behavioural Disorder) which is a very serious condition and which can prove fatal unless treated straight away.

Police officers failed to recognise that Mr Coker was suffering with this condition and the jury found that this was because of failures in police training and also because of the failure of police officers to communicate properly with each other and with the police doctor.

24 March 201015 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Aborigine who died in custody was punched on the ground

originally published by: SKY News
9th March 2010

A new inquest into the death of an aboriginal man in an Australian police station has been told he was punched on the ground by an officer who had his knee on his chest.

Mulranji Doomadgee died in a police cell on Palm Island off the coast of Queensland in 2004. He had suffered massive internal injuries including his liver being cut almost in two. Sergeant Chris Hurley had arrested him for being drunk and abusive. Following the original inquest, he was charged with manslaughter, but an all-white jury took only four hours to acquit him.

The police union then applied for a new inquest to be held to try to exonerate the officer from any blame. Following the death of Mr Doomadgee, Palm Island erupted in rioting, and police reinforcements had to be sent from the mainland to restore order.

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4 March 201015 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Training of police officers criticised over cell death

originally published by: The BBC
3rd March 2010

Inadequate training and communication between officers led to them failing to recognise the condition of a cocaine addict who died in police custody.

Paul Coker died at Plumstead police station hours after he was arrested for breaching the peace at his girlfriend’s home in August 2005, an inquest heard. He told officers “I can’t breathe, you’re killing me”, during the arrest.

The inquest jury at Southwark Coroner’s Court found officers did not recognise the “symptoms of excited delirium.”Two hours after his arrest at Lucy Chadwick’s house in south-east London, Mr Coker, 32, became unwell and collapsed after being transported to cells, the inquest heard. Selena Lynch, the assistant deputy coroner, told jurors that a pathologist’s report gave the cause of death as cocaine intoxication.