Witness on use of force and police custody tells inquiry that lying on torso will ‘interfere with breathing’
Police officers should not have lain across the torso of Sheku Bayoh as he lay restrained on the ground and they missed multiple opportunities to call an ambulance despite him presenting “multiple risk factors”, an expert has told the inquiry into his death in custody.
The final written report from Joanna Caffrey, an expert witness on the use of force and police custody, states: “No officer should lay over the torso of a restrained person, whether in prone or supine. This will interfere with breathing.”