Pontins: Paul Reynolds restraint death prompts police training review
Police officers will undergo “enhanced” training following the death of a father who had been unlawfully restrained at a Suffolk holiday park.
Paul Reynolds, 38, of Colchester, died after being held by security staff at Pontins, in Pakefield, near Lowestoft.
Officers who attended in 2017 did not establish if Mr Reynolds was asleep or unconscious, an inquest heard.
Chief Constable Steve Jupp said the officers had not assessed the scene “robustly”.
In response to a Prevention of Future Deaths report, Mr Jupp said officers would have been expected to “assess the person being detained and review the evidence”.
“It was clear from the inquest that the officers involved did not fulfil this assessment robustly and we acknowledge that their evidence identified confusion surrounding their police powers,” he said.
The inquest, in May, concluded the Pontins staff had unlawfully restrained Mr Reynolds “by the neck” on 14 February 2017.
After being involved in an altercation, Mr Reynolds had been grabbed from behind in a bear hug as part of a restraint which lasted 11 minutes.
When officers arrived, Mr Reynolds “was heard snoring” and was thought to be asleep.
Officers taking him to a Police Investigation Centre later had to perform CPR. He was taken to the James Paget University Hospital, where he died due to a lack of oxygen to the brain on 16 February 2017.
Following the inquest, coroner Jaqueline Devonish wrote to both Pontins owner, Britannia Jinky Jersey Limited, and Suffolk Constabulary.
In her Prevention of Future Deaths Report to the police, she said officers had mistakenly failed to use pain/pressure testing to determine if Mr Reynolds had been unconscious or asleep.
Mr Jupp said the force had “enhanced its training delivery” and guidance around the “importance of the initial assessment and the differences between proportionate and necessary checks of health and the application of force”.
After the conclusion of the jury inquest, Mr Reynolds’ partner Carrie Bennett described him as “loveable” and welcomed the conclusion with “huge relief and gratitude”.
Source: (BBC News)