Scotland’s police watchdog finds officers acted appropriately with man later found dead in flat

An independent investigation has found that police officers acted appropriately in their dealings with a man who was later found dead in his flat.

At about 12.30am on July 18, 2020, police were called by members of the public after a 34-year-old man was found lying in the streets of a town in the Northern Isles.

When police approached him, he was found to be asleep and under the influence of alcohol.

Officers woke the man, who was found to be aware of his surroundings and understood what the officers were saying to him.

They helped the man to his feet and he was able to provide his address to the officers and walk mostly unaided.

Officers determined that he was not so intoxicated that they needed to arrest him for being drunk and incapable.

At around 2pm that day, a friend of the man discovered he had died in his flat.

A Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) investigation into the death found he had died somewhere between 1am and 2pm as a result of taking an opiate and a designer drug.

Police officers acted appropriately in their dealings with a man who was later found dead in his flat, an independent investigation has concluded.

On July 19 2020, Police Scotland referred the incident to the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner.

An investigation found that during the incident, officers had acted appropriately and the man’s death could not have been foreseen.

Although the man was drunk, the officers decided he was capable of taking care of himself.

CCTV evidence also shows the man was capable of walking unaided.

An investigation found that it was unclear if the man had consumed the drugs which led to his death prior to or after his contact with the police.

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