• Leighton Jones, 30, died following police contact in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff in mid-June and a video has surfaced showing 4 cops restraining him to the ground.
• South Wales Police have confirmed that no officers involved in this altercation have been suspended or moved from regular duties during the IOPC probe.
• The death of Mohamud Hassan following police contact in January also led to no officer suspensions, despite the cop watchdog serving misconduct notices.
Image taken at Leighton Jones memorial, copyright Tom Davies
South Wales Police (SWP) have confirmed that none of the officers who had contact with Leighton Jones on the night of his death have been suspended pending investigation by the police watchdog.
Leighton, 30, died after officers restrained him to the ground in Pentwyn, Cardiff in the early hours of 19 June after a callout, with the man later being pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
voice.wales asked the force whether any cops have been suspended or removed from their regular duties during an ongoing investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
A police spokesperson replied bluntly: “No officers suspended/ moved.” Follow-up questions for clarification were ignored.
Leighton’s family expressed their anger at the decision but were not in a position to provide a comment.
At a memorial held for Leighton Jones in the Adamsdown area where he was well known, many people blamed the police for his death.
IOPC officials have said that a callout to police was made to attend to a man “in distress” who they later “restrained and handcuffed” during the incident. Leighton was not arrested at any stage.
SWP have described the death as what “appears to be a medical episode with no suspicious circumstances”, the watchdog added that initial statements from the officers implied the restraint applied to the man was “for his own safety.”
According to a SWP statement, the officers arrived at the scene at 1am. An IOPC spokesperson added that the man was later sent to University Hospital of Wales where he was pronounced dead at 2.30am.
The call to suspend officers who are having their conduct investigated by the IOPC is not unwarranted for the police force based in Cardiff.
Home Office guidance for police officer misconduct stipulates the conditions that cops can reasonably be asked to be suspended from their duties.
The official guidance document states that a suspension can be given to an officer if it is in “[t]he public interest”.
The document adds that moving an officer from regular duties can also be used instead of a suspension pending outcome of an investigation: “A temporary move to a new location or role must always be considered first as an alternative to suspension.”
Guidelines also notes that an officer can be suspended without it being held as a “formal misconduct outcome” or “prejudgement”, that officers who are suspended are given full pay as long as they are not in custody or prison, and that a suspended officer even has the chance to appeal their suspension.
In an incident from last year, a cop from the Metropolitan Police was handed a temporary suspension and another placed on “restricted duties” pending the outcome of an IOPC probe.
voice.wales revealed back in February that Cardiff cops involved in the death of Mohamud Hassan had also escaped suspension despite misconduct notices being served by the police watchdog.
The discovery was made following the SWP press office dodging questions about the lack of suspensions, telling voice.wales that the IOPC are the only officials that could make a comment on the matter and then being told by the watchdog that it is solely a matter for the force.
Black Lives Matter Cardiff and Vale said at the time: “This is once again evidence of a police force that views itself as unaccountable, and as above the public.”
The death of Mohamud Hassan has been marked by a constant lack of information and concerns about a cover-up by the family themselves, who have called for the resignation of Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan.
The credibility of the IOPC itself has been repeatedly questioned by families of people who have died in police custody, many of whom last year called for the body to be abolished.
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