Met police officers accused of lying at inquest into death of Kevin Clarke

Two Met cops have been accused of lying to the inquest of a man who died after being restrained by officers while suffering a mental health crisis.

PC Danielle Barnes and PC Elizabeth McAleenan are accused of breaches of professional standards over the death of Kevin Clarke in Lewisham on March 9, 2018.

Mr Clarke, 35, who had schizophrenia, died after being restrained by officers in a field in Catford. 

An inquest at Southwark Coroner’s Court in 2022 heard that Mr Clarke told officers “I’m going to die” as he was put into handcuffs, but was “ignored” and then lost consciousness as he was taken to an ambulance. 

He died from acute behavioural disturbance, in a relapse of schizophrenia, leading to exhaustion and cardiac arrest. A coroner concluded that inappropriate restraint by Met officers contributed to his death. 

PC Barnes, based within the Met’s South East Command Unit, and PC McAleenan, from the Central West Command Unit, are both accused of “failing to execute their duty to ensure a member of the public’s welfare”.

It is also alleged that they gave evidence to the inquest under oath “which was both dishonest and lacked integrity”.

If proven, the allegations amount to gross misconduct “so serious as to justify dismissal”, a notice of the misconduct hearing said.

Detective Chief Superintendent Trevor Lawry, local policing commander for South-east London, said: “Throughout this process our thoughts and sympathies have been with Mr Clarke’s family. Following the conclusion of the inquest we acknowledged our failings as a police service and apologised to Mr Clarke’s family. I want to reiterate that apology.

“It’s important we don’t pre-judge the outcome of proceedings in any way, but our communities rightly expect police officers to be subject to thorough scrutiny for the actions they take.

“We continually review our policies in line with national guidance around restraint as well as how we assist those in mental health crisis and are working with colleagues nationally to consider our training and guidance to officers in dealing with these kinds of fast paced and challenging incidents.”

A misconduct hearing is due to start on January 20.

Pictured top: Kevin Clarke (Picture: The Met)