Shocking details about how a Thames Valley Police officer detained a man have been revealed as his mother heartbreakingly calls for him to be remembered.
Brian Ringrose - described as a 'great son, father, brother, uncle and cousin' - died after police used 'excessive force' by handcuffing his arms over his head which caused muscle tearing and haemorrhaging in his shoulders in January 2021.
He struggled while he was face down on the floor of the emergency department at Milton Keynes Hospital where medical staff 'looked on but didn't act’, according to his devastated family's solicitors.
He appeared to suffer a heart attack while the police were strapping him into a stretcher to take him back into police custody before they realised he had stopped breathing.
Although he was initially resuscitated, Brian died a few days later on February 2, 2021.
The full story of Brian's case has been laid bare following a police misconduct hearing which concluded this week. It found police officer Martyn Jones guilty of gross misconduct.
A disciplinary panel found he had used “excessive force” during a prolonged restraint face down on the floor of the emergency department at Milton Keynes Hospital.
Brian Ringrose had been discharged into police custody whilst still semi-conscious from the overdose of prescription medication which had led to his admission.
His family's solicitors said in a statement: "He did not appear capable of speech. His struggle while being held face down on the floor of the emergency department for a prolonged period, including while his arms were being pulled over his head, was nonetheless viewed by PC Jones and others as non-compliance, requiring forceful control.
"Medical staff did not intervene."
The Independent Office for Police Conduct investigated the death but declined to refer manslaughter charges to the CPS and the CPS decided that PC Jones should not be charged with assault either. Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Trust is conducting an investigation which has not yet concluded. An inquest will take place next March.
Lawyer Carolynn Gallwey of Bhatt Murphy acts for Brian’s mother and sons. Brian’s mother Mary Ringrose said this: “It’s been a wait of over three and a half years to see someone held accountable for Brian’s death. Brian was a great son, father, brother, uncle and cousin and very much loved by all of us.
"We still have a long way to go in trying to make sure his death was not in vain, and that lessons will be learnt. We want people to say and remember his name: Brian Ringrose."
Carolynn Gallwey added: “This was a shocking and brutal police restraint, all the more so that it took place on the floor of a hospital with clinical staff looking on. It raises once again the question of why police officers so often persist in maintaining restraint in search of “compliance” ie acquiescence, from vulnerable people who are simply not able to oblige them in that. A new, and less dehumanising approach is needed."
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