Olaseni Lewis died in part from "disproportionate use of force"

The death of a man after prolonged restraint by police on a mental health ward was caused in part by “disproportionate and unreasonable” use of force, pain compliance techniques and multiple mechanical restraints, an inquest has found.

The narrative conclusion, which came after the coroner ruled out a verdict of unlawful killing, found fault with both police officers and medics involved in the death of Olaseni Lewis at Bethlem Royal hospital in south London in 2010.

Lewis, 23, an IT graduate with no prior history of mental illness, collapsed at the hospital after being taken there by relatives on 31 August 2010. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at Croydon University hospital on 4 September.

A postmortem examination found he had suffered a hypoxic brain injury, which occurs when the brain is starved of oxygen, jurors heard on the second day of the inquest.

Early in the inquest, Lewis’s mother, Ajibola Lewis, recalled how a nurse at the Maudsley hospital in south London, had warned her not to allow him to be transferred to Bethlem, where the incident occurred.

“She said to me, ‘Look, don’t let him go to the Bethlem, don’t let him go there,’” Ajibola Lewis said. However, she took the decision, on the advice of doctors, that her son should attend the mental health hospital as a voluntary patient.

The case only came to inquest after years of investigations into who should be held responsible for Lewis’s death. In 2015, following an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the Crown Prosecution Service determined that the officers involved had no criminal case to answer.

Last year, it was decided that no charges of corporate homicide would be brought against the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust, which manages Bethlem, after it was investigated by Devon and Cornwall police.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation into Lewis’s death is pending following the conclusion of the inquest.

Olaseni Lewis died in part from "disproportionate use of force"