The mother of a church caretaker who died after being detained by police eleven years ago has told an inquest about the ‘tortuous years’ seeking justice for her son.
Thomas Orchard, 32, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, suffered a cardiac arrest after being held down, placed in restraints, and having a webbing belt wrapped around his face in Exeter in October 2012.
He was pronounced dead days later in hospital, after being arrested and brought to Devon and Cornwall Police’s Heavitree Road custody unit on October 3. He had been detained after a ‘disturbance’ in central Exeter.
Mr Orchard’s mother, Alison Orchard, told a five-week inquest that opened on Monday in County Hall in Exeter that she hoped that the family would finally be able to receive answers about his death.
‘It has been over 11 tortuous years since Thomas’ tragic death and we welcome this inquest as our first opportunity to play a more active role in the proceedings and to finally get some answers,’ she said.
Thomas Orchard, 32, suffered a cardiac arrest while in police custody in Exeter in 2012
‘We hope that the inquest process will be robust, with all those involved being open and honest, so that, as a family, we can now 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.’
Ms Orchard said that Thomas had suffered a deterioration in his mental health in the days leading up to his detention and that he had been seen by multiple medical professionals.
‘At some point in late September or early October 2012, we now understand Thomas stopped taking his medication and that he told work he wasn’t well enough although he still attended church and took communion,’ she said.
‘On the morning of October 3, Thomas’ father Ken received a call from Thomas’ mental health care team to say that he had not attended a meeting they had scheduled with him and, shortly after, two female police constables came to my home to take me into the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where Thomas had been admitted.’
‘Both Ken and I joined him there and my immediate impression was that he had already died. He was formally pronounced dead a week later, on October 10.’
Mr Orchard had been starved of oxygen after having had an Emergency Response Belt wrapped around his face.
An Emergency Response Belt that prevents a detainee from biting or spitting, similar to the one used on Thomas Orchard
Senior Coroner Philip Spinney had described to the jury the evidence that it was likely to hear in the coming five-weeks.
He said that Mr Orchard was experiencing a mental health crisis and was detained on October 3 after being abusive to members of the public.
He was dealt with by seven police officers, handcuffed and restrained before being driven to the custody unit. He had the Emergency Response Belt placed around his head due to concerns about biting and spitting.
Mr Orchard was subsequently carried and left face-down on a mattress in a cell, where he was searched and handcuffed. He subsequently had the Emergency Response Belt and restraints removed and was left alone in the cell, where he lay motionless for 12 minutes before custody staff re-entered and started CPR.
He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on October 10.
Custody sergeant Jan Kingshott and civilian detention officers Simon Tansley and Michael Marsden were acquitted of manslaughter by gross negligence following a trial in 2017.
Later, the office of the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police pleaded guilty to breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Devon and Cornwall Police were fined £230,000 in 2019 over health and safety charges related to the case.
In the health and safety case, a judge ruled they could not be sure that the ERB was a contributory factor in Mr Orchard’s death, Mr Spinney said.
The inquest continues.
