Three officers deny manslaughter of Thomas Orchard who had cardiac arrest after being held at Exeter police station

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A church caretaker with mental health issues died after being unlawfully restrained by police officers for more than 20 minutes while in custody, a jury has been told.

Two detention officers and a sergeant are accused of the manslaughter of Thomas Orchard, 32, who suffered a cardiac arrest in his cell at Exeter’s main police station after being held down and having a large webbing belt put across his face.

Custody sergeant Jan Kingshott, 45, and civilian detention officers Simon Tansley, 39, and Michael Marsden, 56, all deny the charge.

Bristol crown court was told that after Orchard was freed from the restraints he made “little or no movement” but was left lying face down in the locked cell. It was a further 12 minutes before officers re-entered the room and discovered that he was not breathing.

Orchard, who had paranoid schizophrenia, died in hospital seven days after Devon and Cornwall officers arrested him on suspicion of a public order offence.

Mark Heywood QC, prosecuting, told the jury that Orchard was arrested at about 11am on 3 October 2012 in Sidwell Street, Exeter. He died in hospital on 10 October.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Left to right: Michael Marsden, Simon Tansley and Jan Kingshott at Bristol crown court. Photograph: Elizabeth Cook/PA

“The arrest involved a number of officers and the use of physical restraints,” Heywood said. “After his arrest he was then transported, still restrained, to Heavitree Road police station custody unit – a dedicated unit for receiving arrested people – and moved from a van, first into the holding area and then into a cell.

“There he was physically searched and then finally released from restraint and he was left alone. He was physically restrained in some way or another, in the street and at the custody unit, for a total period of 22 minutes.”

He continued: “For a significant part of the later period, that is at the custody unit, he also had an emergency response belt (ERB) applied over the whole or part of his face, including his nose and mouth at times.

“Once released from restraint in the cell he made little or no movement. When the cell was entered 12 minutes later, he was in cardiac arrest. Although to some extent cardiac function and respiratory effort were restored by significant intervention, he died in hospital one week later.”

The three defendants face one joint charge of manslaughter, alleging that they unlawfully killed Orchard by gross negligence.

Heywood said the combination of force and physical restraints, coupled with a “complete failure” to realise Orchard’s condition and observe him closely, led to him being starved of oxygen.

The officers used force to restrain Orchard, mostly in a face down position, and placed the large webbing belt across his face, interfering with his ability to breathe, it is alleged.

“That situation continued for over five minutes, deep within a police station, while he was restrained at hand and foot,” Heywood said. “At the same time, no one of those directly responsible took sufficient care to see that he was breathing properly – or at all.

“Instead, he was left in a locked cell, under remote observation for a further 12 minutes until his true condition was discovered. By then, it was too late.”

The jury, of six men and six women, has been told that the case is a retrial.

Orchard was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when he was a teenager and was prescribed anti-psychotic medication, the court was told.

He was described as “quiet, somewhat introverted” man who worked as a cleaner at St Thomas’s church in Exeter.

“The overall picture appears to be that, although in the past he had suffered outbreaks of aggressive behaviour because of his illness, he was not known to bite or spit or to threaten others in that way,” Heywood said.

By the end of September 2012, Orchard’s condition had begun to deteriorate. On the morning of his arrest, members of the public who saw him in Exeter city centre thought he was suffering from mental illness or under the influence of drugs. “It is clear that he was in fact suffering from mental health problems,” Heywood said.

Five police officers and two police community support officers arrested Orchard. The court heard that Orchard, who was 5ft 7in and weighed about 76kg (12 stone), was on the ground and shouting at the top of his voice, threatening the officers. One witness claimed Orchard attempted to bite the police officers restraining him, and others said they saw him spitting.

The trial continues.