Nuno Cardoso, a law student, died shortly after he was arrested and restrained by Thames Valley police in Oxford

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The police watchdog has launched an investigation into the death of a 25-year-old student in Oxford who was arrested by Thames Valley police shortly before he died.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the death of Nuno Cardoso, a law student from Kentish Town, north London, who died in November.

According to evidence given to the IPCC, Cardoso was restrained during arrest and subsequently collapsed. Cardoso is the fifth black man to die after the use of restraints by police in 2017.

Four Thames Valley police officers have been warned that their decision to transport Cardoso to police custody rather than seek medical assistance is under investigation.

Thames Valley police informed the IPCC of the incident and investigators were sent to the scene after the arrest on 24 November.



According to information given to the IPCC, Cardoso was being transferred to a police station in the back of a police van when officers reported that he had become unwell.

Officers stopped the van in order to administer CPR, with additional officers arriving with a defibrillator to provide further medical assistance.

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Cardoso was taken by ambulance to the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford where he died later that day. Body-worn video footage of his arrest and his subsequent medical assistance has been downloaded for analysis.

Cardoso’s mother, Doroteia dos Santos, said she wanted justice for her son.

“The number of deaths in police custody, particularly of young black men, makes me worried that something is wrong,” she said. “I have so many questions about how this could have happened to my son.”

A major review into serious incidents and deaths in custody was published in October, calling for far-reaching reforms to the police, justice system and health service. The review by Dame Elish Angiolini – which was ordered by Theresa May in 2015, when she was home secretary – found evidence of racial disproportionality in police restraint deaths. It also warned that police vehicles and cells should not be used to transport or hold those detained under mental health powers, unless in exceptional cases.



Guido Liguori, an IPCC associate commissioner, said: “My thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr Cardoso and all those affected by his death. The investigation, which is in its very early stages, will look at the full circumstances surrounding this incident.”

Ruth Mellor from Saunders Law, the firm representing the family, said: “It is vital that there is a thorough investigation. Any concerns that might come to light around the actions or omissions of the police officers or paramedics involved in these events should be robustly examined to ensure proper accountability and justice.”

Campaigners have warned about the number of deaths of black men in police custody. Deborah Coles, the director of Inquest, a charity providing expertise on state-related deaths, said there was a “systemic problem”.

“It is despairing that we end the year with yet another restraint related death of a black man, who died less than a month after the publication of the Angiolini review,” said Coles. “Enough is enough. That young black men are dying with such regularity shows that this is a systemic problem that needs urgent attention.”

