No police prosecution in CS death

No police officers are to be prosecuted over the death in custody of a man who was squirted in the face with CS spray while his hands were cuffed behind his back.

Ghanaian-born Ibrahima Sey, 29, was sprayed with the incapacitant, which causes breathing difficulties and streaming of the eyes and nose, during a struggle at Ilford police station, east London, after being arrested over a domestic fracas in March last year. It is understood that at least five officers were attempting to restrain the 18-stone Mr Sey on the station forecourt. The use of the spray on a handcuffed man provoked an outcry, but the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. It added that it would review its decision in the event of evidence emerging at the inquest on Mr Sey, in September. A post-mortem examination showed that Mr Sey collapsed after a period of exertion and was suffering from hypertensive heart disease.