January 13, 2023 1.47 pm This story is over 24 months old

Arrested lorry driver dies after custody collapse: Watchdog probes Lincolnshire Police actions

He was arrested on suspicion of drink driving

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the actions of Lincolnshire Police prior to the death of a man taken into custody after the lorry he was driving was involved in an incident on the A1 at Colsterworth.

Jarosław Andrzej Kawala, 51, was driving a heavy goods vehicle which left the carriageway and ploughed through a hedgerow before coming to rest in a field at around 3.45pm on December 21, 2022. Lincolnshire Police attended and arrested him on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol.

Following a mandatory referral from Lincolnshire Police, the IOPC began an independent investigation on December 22, 2022. The IOPC investigation has established that the man was taken to Grantham Police Station where his detention was authorised at 5.11pm.

However, about half an hour later he collapsed in the custody booking in area. He was provided with basic first aid by officers and a healthcare professional while an ambulance was requested.

An ambulance arrived shortly before 6pm and transferred the man to the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, but sadly he was pronounced dead there at about 8.40pm that evening.

A post mortem was held on December 29, 2022, and further tests are being carried out. The Lincolnshire coroner has been informed and an inquest was opened and adjourned on Monday, January 9, 2023.

Derrick Campbell, IOPC Regional Director, said: “We have been in contact with the man’s wife and family to express our sympathies for their loss and to explain our role. Where someone has died after being taken into police custody, it is important that all the circumstances are independently and impartially examined.

“We are looking at whether the arrest and detention were carried out in line with relevant local and national police policy and procedure, and whether the care provided in custody was appropriate.”

IOPC’s investigators are reviewing dashcam footage from the scene of the incident, and CCTV footage from the custody suite. The IOPC is also obtaining statements from the officers involved and an independent witness. All police officers are being treated as witnesses at this stage, it added.

The Lincolnite contacted Lincolnshire Police for a statement, but the force said it won’t be making any comment while the IOPC investigation is ongoing.


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