Police officers ‘kneed’ a dad ‘several times’ during a struggle in a street before repeatedly shouting ‘he’s foaming at the mouth’, an inquest has been told.
Andre Moura died in the early hours of July 7, 2018, after being arrested by officers outside his home just hours before. Neighbours who witnessed the incident appeared before the inquest hearing at Stockport today (November 25).
Barry Martin and Claire Pearson still live at the address which faces Mr Moura’s former home, which he shared with his partner, Catia Regueria. Throughout the morning’s evidence. They told senior coroner Alison Mutch that they witnessed officers ‘knee’ the 30-year-old, and ‘drag’ him to a police van.
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Earlier this week, the proceedings heard a snippet of a 999 call from Ms Regueria, who called the police to inform cops she had asked Andre to leave as he had been 'taking drugs’.
Both Mr Martin and Ms Pearson said they had spotted a police presence outside Mr Moura’s home, on Seventh Avenue in the Limeside area of Oldham, earlier in the day. However, they became aware of the incidents which led to his arrest just after 11pm — which is when it’s thought officers asked him to spend the night elsewhere.
“It was a habit of mine to peep through the blinds just before bed,” Mr Martin said. “When I did [that night], I saw the police.
“When I first looked out I just saw the side of the van, I was downstairs. I went into my eldest son’s bedroom to get a better view to see what was going on and I could see over the van. It looked like the police were escorting him off the property. There were three officers walking down the path of his garden. They got to the middle of the road, it was clear that he did not want to leave.”
At this point, Mr Martin continued, Andre ‘went to run’ away from the situation. That led to an ‘escalation’ of physicality, he added.
Appearing via video link, Mr Martin went on: “The coppers grabbed him and they all scuffled and fell to the floor. He was gassed [with CS spray], I believe. I did not see the first gassing, but I heard him react to it. They were rolling around on the floor.
“It seemed like the three officers were struggling with him. He wanted to get his hands free — I don’t know if it was to get to his face [following the CS]. They got him under his arms and dragged him towards his wall and his gate. It was escalating.
“As the two officers lifted him, the third one kneed him several times. Andre was trying to keep his weight on the floor. They then lifted him. At that point the third officer delivered several blows with his knee.”
Mr Martin said he thought the ‘blows’ struck Andre’s face and upper chest, but accepted that it could have connected with his ‘torso’, following questions from one officer’s lawyer. The neighbour did however say that his ‘stomach sank’ when he witnessed the fracas.
He added: “That’s when I went out to ask if he was alright. They were then up against his wall. He was being raised to his feet and there was a scuffle again. They started to move him across his house, past the front end of the van to the back of the van. At the point, other officers turned up.
“He was being dragged along the floor. They could not get him to his feet. I had an interaction with the police that arrived [second] and then after that I went back upstairs and saw him being taken to the back of the van.
“By the time I was back upstairs, I saw he had no clothes on. They were putting him in the back of the van, and he was face down with cuffs on and placed in the back of the van. Andre was quite vocal… [but] within a few seconds of the van doors closing he was quiet.”
Ms Pearson, also appeared on the same video link. She corroborated many details of her partner’s account, including the element that officers had ‘kneed him in the head’.
“While that was happening, Martin ran outside and said, ‘is he alright, I have just seen you knee him in the head several times’,” Ms Pearson told the court. “The officer replied, ‘I know I did, you are not dealing with this’.”
Ms Pearson, who remained in the couple’s upstairs bedroom during the incident, added in her evidence: “Andre was shouting that his eyes were stinging and his kids were watching. He kept shouting ‘my kids are right there’.
“I think two of the officers lifted Andre up and they put him in the van on his stomach. They kept shouting ‘He is foaming at the mouth! Andre! Andre!’”
Ms Pearson was questioned multiple times on her hearing of the ‘foaming’ sentence, but she maintained she heard it on the night. Evidence seen by the 11-strong jury panel earlier in the hearing showed the officers’ body-worn CCTV footage.
In the footage jurors have seen, after being placed face down on the floor, he is seen being lifted into the van by several officers, following which he appears to go quiet. They try to sit him up before then placing him on his side.
Officers can be heard shouting 'Andre' with one also shouting 'wake up.' "Let's not get him out in case he's bluffing," one officer is heard to say. In another clip, another officer can be heard requesting an ambulance via his radio to check him over as he is 'breathing but not responding.'
However, just a few seconds later the same officer can be heard using his radio to cancel the ambulance request having asked his colleagues situated at the back of the police van 'is he responding?'. "He's bracing himself. He's fine," One officer can be heard to say.
After this point, Mr Martin and Ms Pearson said it took between 10 and 15 minutes for the police van to leave for Ashton police station, where an officer spoke to the check-in desk shortly after Andre’s arrival saying she 'can't find a pulse' and asking for an ambulance to be dispatched 'immediately.'
The inquest continues next week.
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