On the 6th November 2023 – an Article 2, jury inquest will commence in Exeter after the death of Thomas Orchard in the city over a decade ago. Thomas died in police custody in October 2012, more than eleven years prior to these proceedings beginning and it’s the single longest period I’ve yet known for a sudden death in state custody to reach an inquest.
Thomas died after being taken under arrest to Exeter police station following his arrest for an alleged public order offence, experienced following deterioration in his mental health. Thomas had lived with schizophrenia for a number of years and was working as a gardener at a church in Exeter. Having been handcuffed and restrained during arrest, officers continued restraint at the police station which included use of an “emergency restraint belt”, which it was placed over his face prior to him experiencing a cardiac arrest.
It’s another mental health and restraint related death in police custody inquest.
INVESTIGATION TO INQUEST
As always, there was an investigation in to Thomas’s death and it led to the prosecution of a police officer and two police staff for manslaughter. The jury in that trial was subsequently discharged and a re-trial held the following year which led to not guilty verdicts on the three defendants. Subsequently, there was another criminal investigation in to the office of the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police for health & safety violations which led to a further prosecution and a guilty plea. The force was fined almost £250,000 for those legal breaches.
These events, along with two sets of police disciplinary considerations – one for four police officers, one for two police civilian custody staff, both of which were discontinued amidst arguments about abuse of process or public interest related to delays – go some way to explaining why there was such a very long delay in an inquest being convened.
Thomas’s parents – Alison and Ken Orchard – have expressed their understandable frustration at the conclusions of previous proceedings and prior to the inquest. Two manslaughter trials which led to acquittal and a health & safety prosecution which led to a guilty plea and yet misconduct proceedings were discontinued entirely, without a hearing. It’s easy to understand why they now look to the inquest process to find answers to their outstanding questions about their son’s death.
In a statement ahead of the inquest, the family stated —
“It has been over 11 tortuous years since Thomas’ tragic death and we welcome his inquest as our first opportunity to play a more active role in the proceedings and to finally get some answers. We hope that the inquest process will be robust, with all those involved being open and honest, so that as a family we can not only have our questions answered but also ensure that Thomas’ death can play its part in improving the treatment of those in mental health crisis and in preventing further deaths in police custody.”
No doubt there will be media coverage of this and it will be worth following for anyone interested in the topics we cover on this blog — my own interest in this remains in understanding why so many aspects of what we already know about Thomas’s death simply mirror deaths which occurred in the years before this tragedy and yet further reflection on the line often heard in other cases that “lessons will be learned” which is so key to “improve the treatment of those in mental health crisis and in preventing further deaths in police custody”.
The Guardian is covering the inquest and you will find all their articles on their deaths in custody page.
Winner of the President’s Medal,
the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Winner of the Mind Digital Media Award
All opinions expressed are my own – they do not represent the views of any organisation.
(c) Michael Brown, 2023
I try to keep this blog up to date, but inevitably over time, amendments to the law as well as court rulings and other findings from inquests and complaints processes mean it is difficult to ensure all the articles and pages remain current. Please ensure you check all legal issues in particular and take appropriate professional advice where necessary.
Government legislation website – www.legislation.gov.uk
Mental Health Cop 