Man dies in police custody
British police today launched an investigation after the death of a man in custody at Heathrow Police Station.
Paul Yorke, 38, was arrested yesterday at Terminal 2 of Heathrow Airport, for being a prohibited person – someone who has been banned by the British Airports Authority (BAA) from being on its property.
He was taken to Heathrow Police Station where he was later charged for being a prohibited person and detained in custody to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates.
While in custody, Mr Yorke was seen several times by a doctor and deemed fit for detention, Scotland Yard said.
However, at 7am today he was discovered unconscious in his cell and an ambulance was called.
He was given emergency treatment by police officers and rushed to Hillingdon Hospital, but he was pronounced dead at just after 8am.
A post mortem was carried out at Uxbridge Mortuary and police are now awaiting the results of further toxicology tests.
Scotland Yard said Mr Yorke’s death would be investigated by the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards, supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Authority.
