Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
Following the conclusion of the inquest into the death of Andrzej Kusper, Commander Paul Trevers said: “I was hugely saddened to hear of Mr Kusper’s death. It is a tragedy and I cannot imagine the impact his loss has had on his friends and family. I hope the inquest has provided them with some answers.
“Now that the inquest has concluded, we will be writing to them to express our sincere condolences.
“As the Coroner heard, we routinely train officers in how to keep people safe when they are arrested, in line with national guidance. However, we will carefully study the jury’s findings in relation to the search, and any recommendations from the Coroner to consider what else we need to do.”
After Mr Kusper’s death, we quickly referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. They decided that the actions of the officer who searched Mr Kusper inside the custody van was not classed as gross misconduct and recommended he face a misconduct meeting for breaching the police standards of professional behaviour of duties and responsibilities. The meeting chair found misconduct not proven, and determined that the officer should undergo reflective practice, which means they underwent learning and training.
The two Directorate of Professional Standards officers were also given reflective practice about exhibit handling.
The IOPC did not find any organisational learning about how the Met searches or transports prisoners, but they did identify some organisational learning around exhibits and training, and we have improved our practice in both of these areas as a result of these recommendations.
We know it is important to get searches and transport right and, while we have made improvements, we know we can do better and will continue to work on this area for the safety of everyone.