IOPC investigates death following police custody in Chester

The woman became unwell while in West Cheshire Custody Suite in Blacon on 4 August and later died in hospital.

Cheshire Constabulary first received a call from A&E staff at the Countess of Chester Hospital on the evening of 3 August. Officers attended and assisted the woman into a taxi after she was discharged.

Later that evening, officers were called following a report of a disturbance and arrested the woman. She was taken to custody shortly before 8pm but was returned to hospital after being assessed by a healthcare practitioner.

She subsequently returned to custody in the early hours of 4 August, where she became unwell and paramedics were called. She later died in hospital.

The IOPC received a mandatory referral from the force on 5 August and declared an independent investigation that morning.

Investigators have obtained CCTV and body-worn video footage and will examine the interactions officers had with the woman before and after she arrived at the custody suite.

The IOPC said its thoughts were with the woman’s family and that it had made contact with them to explain the investigation.