Officers to face killing charge

Two police officers are to face disciplinary charges after a man suffocated and died in custody. The move follows an investigation into the death of a London furniture dealer, Richard O'Brien, 37. Mr O'Brien, a father of seven children, was arrested for being drunk and disorderly in Walworth, south east London, in April 1994.

Police Complaints Authority member James Elliott said: "The Metropolitan Police have accepted the authority's recommendation that the officers should be charged with neglecting their duty towards Mr O'Brien. The responsibility for arranging the disciplinary hearing lies with the Metropolitan Police."

In November 1995, an inquest in Southwark returned a unanimous unlawful killing verdict after hearing how Mr O'Brien had suffocated shortly after his arrest.

A post-mortem examination showed up 31 separate injuries to the 19-stone Irishman, including multiple cuts and bruises to his face, and broken ribs. The jury heard how five police officers had held Mr O'Brien face down and fastened two pairs of handcuffs to his wrists. One of the officers testified that Mr O'Brien had put up a violent struggle when arrested but that police had used "minimum force".

Sir Montague Levine, the Southwark coroner, said the case reflected "an appalling lack of instruction" to police in how to restrain people.

In October last year, however, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had decided that there was insufficient evidence to institute proceedings over Mr O'Brien's death, despite the inquest jury's verdict.

The solicitor for the O'Brien family, Fiona Murphy, said: "Some three years after the death of Richard O'Brien, his family is dismayed to learn that the only disciplinary charges will be neglect of duty. The inquest jury found that unlawful force was used and the family are dissatisfied with disciplinary charges which do not reflect the verdict or the evidence."