Kevin Clarke, a Black man who died in police custody in 2018, was restrained for over 30 minutes. Despite his family’s accusations against two police officers for misconduct, both were cleared due to a lack of evidence that they heard his cries of 'I can’t breathe.' An inquest earlier established that at least one officer had indeed heard him. Clarke's sister criticized the police discipline system as broken, expressing anger and disappointment at the outcome which failed to hold the officers accountable.
The panel finds it not proved that either PC Barnes or PC McAleenan heard Mr Clarke say that he could not breathe.
Tellecia Strachen, Clarke's sister, stated, 'There is something wrong with the system; the system is broken and it's not fit for purpose.'
Catherine Elliott mentioned, 'Once [Clarke] is in hand and leg restraints, his behavior was more challenging. On a couple of occasions, it’s possible that the words I can’t breathe were said.'
Strachen voiced her feelings, saying, 'I'm extremely angry, disappointed, and I think it's a waste of time.'
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