Police admit failure over death of man in custody

Police have admitted they failed to properly look after a drunk man who was left in a Whakatane police station cell for nearly eight hours before he was found dead.
Spanish national Francisco Javier de Larratea Soler, 43, was locked in the cell to sober up but not checked for 7 hours.
He was found dead on December 19, 2008, and in its report on the incident released yesterday, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) said police failed to provide a proper "duty of care".
Mr de Larratea Soler had taken methadone, alcohol, cannabis and an anti-insomnia drug and the IPCA said while he may have eventually had died, his death in a police cell was avoidable.
He was taken to the police station after he was found lying drunk and confused on the footpath in Eivers Rd, Whakatane.
The IPCA said that police were justified in taking him into custody for his own protection and for him to sober up, but they failed to comply with their own policies when assessing the risks to his health and wellbeing.
"The risk evaluation process itself was also flawed and inadequate," said the IPCA.
In a statement yesterday the police said they made every effort to ensure the safety of intoxicated people in custody.
However, Acting Assistant Commissioner Gary Knowles said while they did the right thing by taking Mr de Larratea Soler into custody because he was drunk, "our level of care fell below that required".
He said Mr de Larratea Soler's death was "tragic and extremely upsetting for his family as well as for police staff".
When police found him Mr de Larratea Soler could not remember where he lived. Because he could not be taken home and there were no temporary shelters in the region, he was put in the cells.
Mr Knowles said police were following recommendations by the IPCA in its report into Mr de Larratea Soler's death.
A new chapter would be published for the policing manual. It would focus identifying and acting on risks for people in police care.
Mr Knowles said a police investigation had found no police were criminally liable when they failed to recognise the risk Mr de Larratea Soler presented, and gave priority to other public demands.
Several changes had been made to custodial management systems and processes in the Bay of Plenty, including the Whakatane police station.
Staff had been given more training and the watchhouse had been altered.
Prisoners were now transferred to purpose-built cells at Rotorua.
The IPCA said police failed at a supervisory and management level to "provide fulltime oversight of the watchhouse and cells".
Omissions and failures by police officers and police management amounted to a breach of the police duty of care.
The IPCA said it accepted police had addressed the failings which led to Mr de Larratea Soler's death and would make no recommendations over criminal or disciplinary action against police officers.
The IPCA made three recommendations:
Intoxicated people taken into custody must be deemed in need of care and should be roused regularly;
Police officers getting suicide awareness training should be told the care and protection of people in custody included an assessment of all risks, not just suicide;
Police should develop a training module for employees in the watchhouse, with emphasis on the evaluation of risk and the care and protection of people in custody.