Cell death man ‘should have been in hospital’

A man who died in Garda custody, having been arrested for his own safety as he was in a highly-intoxicated state, was unlawfully detained as the legislation did not allow for it, an Inquest into his death heard.

The Coroner for West Galway recommended that Gardaí’s powers under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act would be extended so that they could detain someone who was drunk and a danger to themselves.

Dr Ciaran MacLoughlin said that although this was “obviously the right and charitable thing to do,” someone as drunk as Sean O’Driscoll (60) should have been in hospital, rather than put in a cell on his own. In saying this, he acknowledged that staff at A&E would not thank him.

“There are numerous medical conditions that ordinary members of the public and Gardaí would not be familiar with, but if someone is in a coma in a cell it is a huge responsibility for yourselves,” he said to one Garda witness.

“You would be open to criticism if you released him, and he fell into the river or got knocked over. But looking after him is to ensure that he’s brought to a place of safety (A&E).”

These were among seven recommendations made following the inquiry, which was conducted by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), into Mr O’Driscoll’s death on November 21, 2011.

The Inquest heard that he had been a well-recognised figure to both Gardaí and the public alike, sitting on his perch outside Supermac’s on Cross Street on a regular basis. He was said to be always polite and courteous.

On the date in question, however, he had to be removed from the fast food restaurant due to his high level of intoxication. Once outside, however, he fell over a parked car, and staff rang Gardaí for assistance.

Garda Cormac McAvock said that the man was unsteady on his feet and, when asked for his address, he gave three different locations in the city. He then stumbled into the Chinese restaurant beside Supermac’s, and had to be arrested for his own safety. He was taken to Galway Garda Station and placed in a cell.

He eventually told Gardaí that he lived in St Anthony’s Rest Home on Market Street, which is run by the St Vincent De Paul Society, but attempts to contact staff failed.

Garda Emmet Rock, who was the ‘Member in Charge’ on the night – with sole responsibility for persons in custody – told the Inquest that Mr O’Driscoll was one of six prisoners in the station that night. He checked on him every 15 minutes, and each time he had replied when spoken to. However, at 4.55am, Garda Rock noticed that Mr O’Driscoll had vomited on himself. He entered the cell and found him unresponsive.

He was rushed to UHG, but all attempts to resuscitate him failed, and he was pronounced dead at 5.42am.

Consultant pathologist, Dr Sine Phelan, found that Mr O’Driscoll had a blood/alcohol reading of 140mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood – the limit for driving is 50mg – which she described as “acute intoxication.”

She concluded that pre-existing heart disease had compounded the fact that he had inhaled vomit while in a coma or asleep.

“It is a common cause of death in intoxicated people,” Dr MacLoughlin explained to the jury.

“Normally, you’d wake up, but when you are in a coma you don’t have this protective mechanism, which can have fatal consequences.”

While, the Coroner fully accepted that Mr O’Driscoll had to be taken off the streets for his own safety, he said that changes needed to be made.

“It seems to me that there should be some system in place where Gardaí can breathalyse a person, and if they are over a certain limit they are not to be detained (in the Garda Station), unless it is for a very serous crime,” he said.

Among the other recommendations were that there would be a defibrillator in all major Garda stations, that Gardaí would receive ongoing first aid training, that there would be specialist training given to ‘Members in Charge’, and that there would be better visibility into cells housing vulnerable prisoners.

The jury returned a verdict, in accordance with the medical evidence, and strongly endorsed the Coroner’s seven recommendations.