Inquest finally begins into death of man in police custody

   By Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent
   08 September 2003

   One of the most controversial deaths of a prisoner in police custody
   in the UK will be the subject of a long-awaited inquest today, when
   the man's family will attempt to establish that inappropriate 
   restraint by eight officers caused his death.

   Roger Sylvester, 30, died eight days after being detained outside
   his home in Tottenham, north London, in 1999.
   His family have campaigned to find out how and why he slipped into
   a coma. They say the inquest was delayed by the refusal of police
   officers involved in the incident to answer questions about the
   death.

   Eight police officers detained Mr Sylvester under the Mental Health
   Act and drove him to a nearby hospital. He was handcuffed and 
   covered in a blanket.
   At the hospital, he was left alone in a room with the officers, who
   were restraining him, while a doctor dealt with another patient.
   When medical staff returned about 20 minutes later they found he had
   collapsed and was not breathing. His life support machine was 
   switched off a week later after tests showed that he was clinically
   dead.

  The case has been championed by the support group Inquest, whose
  co-director Deborah Coles said: "The treatment of Roger Sylvester's
  family by the criminal justice system has been utterly shameful and
  characterised by delay, misinformation and secrecy."

  http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=441265

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