Death of Richard O'Brien

Richard O'Brien (1957 – 4 April 1994) was an Irish market trader who died while being arrested by the London Metropolitan police. He was reported to have been placed face down in a police van by five or six officers, and held there, despite saying he was unable to breathe.^[1]

The Independent wrote that O'Brien's 14-year-old son, Richard, was slapped and arrested after asking police to check on his father.^[1]

An inquest heard in 1995 that O'Brien, from Dulwich, South London, had 31 injuries to his body, including cuts and bruises on his face, a dislodged tooth, and fractured ribs. Pathologist Vesna Djurovic said there was pinpoint bleeding indicative of haemorrhaging after blood vessels on his face burst. The cause of death was recorded as "postural asphyxia following a struggle against restraint," and a verdict of unlawful killing was returned.^[1]

The police said O'Brien had been drunk and had struggled violently with them, and denied that his injuries had been caused by the arrest. The Crown Prosecution Service initially refused to prosecute, but three officers — Richard Ilett, Gary Lockwood, and James Barber — were eventually charged with manslaughter after O'Brien's family sought a judicial review. They were acquitted in 1999, when the defence argued successfully that O'Brien had had a heart attack when he tried to remove himself from custody.^[2]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Bennetto, Jason. Man held by police 'unlawfully killed', The Independent, November 11, 1995.
2. ^ Hopkins, Nick. CPS at fault over custody deaths, The Guardian, August 12, 1999.