Sutton Coldfield Police Station
Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield B74 2NR
Begins Monday 19 November - expected to last up to 3 weeks

Three West Midlands Police officers are to face a misconduct hearing starting on Monday 19 November following the death of Kingsley Burrell in 2011.

Police officers Paul Adey, 36, Mark Fannon, 45, and Paul Greenfield, 50, will be answering allegations that they breached standards of the use of force and honesty and integrity following the death of Kingsley. If the allegations are proven, they have been assessed as amounting to gross misconduct.

Kingsley, a 29 year old Black man from Birmingham, died on 31 March 2011 following a prolonged and brutal restraint by police and a failure by medical staff to provide basic medical care. 

On 27 March 2011, four days before his death, Kingsley was detained by police under the Mental Health Act and forcibly restrained by means of rear cuffs, leg straps and threats of a taser for 4¼ hours. On 30 March police and a dog unit were called to the hospital, and Kingsley was once again restrained using rear cuffs, leg straps, and the threat of tasers. En route to another facility, an ambulance worker placed a blanket over Kingsley’s head as he lay chest down on a hospital trolley, still restrained. During the time he was restrained Kingsley was subjected to baton blows, punches, and strikes by police.

Police then left Kingsley lying face down and motionless in a locked seclusion room for around 28 minutes, with his trousers about his knees and the blanket still around his head.  Even though medical staff observing him had already seen that his respiration had dropped to a worrying rate, no one entered the room. When they finally did, they found that Kingsley had suffered a cardiac arrest. Further delays followed in locating a functioning defibrillator and calling an ambulance. He never regained consciousness and died the next day.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

For further information, interview requests and to note your interest, please contact Sarah Uncles on 020 7263 1111 [email protected]

• May 2015: The inquest concluded after six weeks, with the jury finding neglect, amidst a raft of other highly critical findings including that police officers lied about the circumstances in which Kingsley was left in seclusion, and that unreasonable force by police contributed to the death.

• May 2015: It was announced that police officers Paul Adey, Mark Fannon, and Paul Greenfield were to face criminal charges of perjury and perverting the course of justice.

• 4 October 2017: The jury returned a not guilty verdict in the criminal trial of three police officers.

The family welcome support and invite the public to attend the hearing on Monday 19 November 2018. Find out more information on this Event or by following the Justice4Kingsley Campaign page on Facebook.