The family of a Melbourne man who died after he was arrested by police in the city’s west earlier this month has called for answers.
Luke Briggs, 35, was arrested by police at about 2am on 15 July in the car park of a Hoppers Crossing convenience store.
Victoria police say he became “unresponsive during his arrest”, and officers then performed CPR. Paramedics were called and Briggs was taken to Royal Melbourne hospital, where he died on Tuesday night.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the tragic passing of our beloved Luke,” Briggs’ family said in a statement.
“He passed away … wearing his favourite Bunnings jumper, beer by his side, surrounded by his whole family. In his final hours, we shared stories and reminded Luke how much we loved him while his favourite songs played in the background.
“We couldn’t be more heartbroken with the tragic events that we’ve endured over the past nine days and we hope the ongoing investigation provides the answers we’re looking for.
“We will miss you, Luke. We don’t know how we can go on without you.”
A Victoria police spokesperson said a male sergeant and a male constable, both from the police’s north west metro region, had been suspended while officers investigated the “tragic” death.
“The investigation by the Homicide Squad remains ongoing and this investigation is being oversighted by Professional Standards Command, as per standard practice when a person is seriously injured or dies while in custody,” the spokesperson said.
The case will also be referred to the coroner.
It is understood the family were told by police that Briggs had been “non-compliant but not aggressive” prior to his arrest, which was in relation to a traffic matter.
But the family allege he appeared to have sustained bruising over much of his body during the arrest.
The incident was captured on CCTV footage from the convenience store and on the officers’ body-worn cameras.
The chief commissioner of police, Shane Patton, said on the day after the arrest that it was believed the patrol officers were conducting a “routine stop and check” and had asked Briggs to present his driving licence shortly before matters “escalated”.
“I won’t go into the exact details from then but it’s escalated so there’s been a confrontation, the male has ultimately been handcuffed, and then required CPR, which the officers performed,” Patton told the ABC on 16 July.
“Clearly it was a really difficult situation the officers were involved in, and now we’ll step through the process whereby they’re interviewed and give an account, body-worn camera was involved, so that’s good … that will assist in the investigation greatly.”
Patton said at the time he was not aware of any Taser being used, but pepper spray may have been deployed.
Briggs’ family is being represented by Jeremy King, a principal lawyer at Robinson Gill, and are expected to take legal action against the force after the coronial and criminal investigations are completed.
