A police sergeant laughed as a woman was dragged to a cell where she was found unconscious less than an hour later. Former Sergeant Jason Marsden was also accused of calling Kelly Hartigan-Burns an 'alcy' after she was taken into custody for allegedly punching her partner at their home.
Lancashire Live reports that, Kelly, who had a history of attempting suicide and self-harming, was put in a cell without Mr Marsden getting her name. Around 45 minutes later she was found unresponsive in her cell and she died the following day.
READ MORE: The beloved grandmother-of-60 still alone and separated from her family
An inquest at County Hall in Preston has heard that Mr Marsden, who no longer works for the Lancashire Constabulary, was due to finish his shift early at 1am when Kelly, 35, was brought into custody at around 12.20am on Saturday December 4 in 2016. CCTV footage from the custody suite at Greenbank Police Station in Blackburn was played during the inquest which showed Mr Marsden on his computer just before Kelly was brought in.
Fiona Murphy, the barrister representing Kelly's family during the inquest, asked him: "That’s you sitting at your custody desk what’s on your screen?" "Clitheroe golf course," the former officer replied. "And there's Sergeant Ian Wilkinson having a bit of banter with you about your screen showing the golf course and you’re having a laugh about that," the barrister added.
The inquest heard that Mr Marsden selected 'no' when completing the custody record and he was asked 'is there anything in the detainee's possession to indicate a medical condition e.g. prescriptions' despite her having antipsychotic medication promethazine and quetiapine with her.
He has already admitted knowing both are used in people with mental health issues.
In completing the computer custody record the former sergeant also stated he had informed Kelly of her detention and had authorised a search of her. When questioned about this he admitted he had done neither.
"The way you completed the custody record demonstrates a lack of care and a disregard for Kelly and her safety didn't it?" Miss Murphy put to him.
"No," he replied.
"If you had completed it properly it would have taken longer wouldn’t it," the barrister continued.
"Yes," Mr Marsden conceded.
"Might have put in jeopardy your prospect of clocking off earlier wouldn’t it?" Miss Murphy asked.
"No," he responded.
Miss Murphy then accused Mr Marsden of using a 'pejorative term' to describe Kelly by branding her an 'alcy' when he wrote her details on the custody suite whiteboard.
"Alcy is a pejorative term isn’t it," she said to Mr Marsden.
"It’s an offensive term for a police officer to use in a professional context. Do you agree or disagree that was an inappropriate and/or offensive term to be used in a policing context?" "It wasn’t meant as offensive," Mr Marsden replied.
The jury has already watched CCTV footage which shows Mr Marsden abruptly fire a series of questions at Kelly when she was brought to the custody desk without giving her chance to answer him. He then orders the custody detention officer to place her in a cell without ascertaining her name.
"You placed her in a cell and you couldn't even be certain who she was could you?" Miss Murphy asked.
"No," he admitted.
As Kelly was forcibly placed inside one of the cells, with one officer using a 'leg swipe' to restrain her, the CCTV shows Mr Marsden and Sgt Wilkinson laughing together. The jury was then shown a CCTV clip of another, unrelated detainee who becomes aggressive and threatens to kill himself and others while being booked-in at Greenbank Police Station on the same night Kelly was arrested. The custody sergeant, Michael Aspden, manages to calm the detainee down, explains he is authorising his detention and even manages to elicit a laugh from the man.
"This is to give you an example of how booking-in can be done at Greenbank," Kate Cornell, representing Lancashire Constabulary, told the jury. Earlier in proceedings Mr Marsden admitted that he was aware Kelly was a suicide risk when he booked her into a cell.
Although he said he did not know of at least six previous self-harm incidents police were called to he admitted that, had he known, he would have refused to detain her and would have sent her to hospital. "I would say if I had been provided with the information at the scene where Kelly stated she wanted to die in conjunction with those markers then I would have declined detention," Mr Marsden said when giving evidence on Tuesday.
Kelly's brother Stuart, his wife Naila and Kelly's mum June have all been attending the inquest, supported by Kelly's aunts Carol and Eileen, with all wearing purple clothing to represent Kelly's favourite colour and badges labelled 'care not cuffs'. The inquest, which started on February 28 and is due to last five weeks, continues.
