A police force has apologised for failing its duty of care to a Bolton woman who died after being found unresponsive in a police cell. Kelly Hartigan-Burns, 35, died at Royal Blackburn Hospital in 2016 after being found in the cell at Greenbank Police Station in the early hours of Saturday December 4, Lancs Live reports.
After a five-week inquest, a jury concluded Lancashire Constabulary had significantly contributed to her death through various failings. It cited contributing factors including the absence of PNC warning markers on Kelly’s record, a lack of training, the failure of the senior attending officer to inform the transporting officer or the custody staff of the suicide or self harm risk, and the management of Kelly in the custody suite.
Failure to explain the custody process and the speed and manner in which Kelly was processed also increased the risk of self-harm or suicide, the jury concluded. Now, the force has apologised, saying it has failed to keep Kelly safe from harm.
READ MORE: Police failings contributed to death of Bolton woman found unresponsive in cell, inquest jury rules
DCC Sacha Hatchett, of Lancashire Constabulary, said: “Our thoughts first and foremost today are with the family of Kelly Hartigan-Burns and with all of her loved ones. Lancashire Constabulary owes a duty of care to all of those in our custody and they should be able to rely on us to keep them safe. We failed to do that with Kelly and for that we are truly sorry.
"Since that night we have taken a number of steps to minimise the risk of such a tragedy being able to ever happen again. This includes a number of system changes to strengthen our processes when booking people into custody and increasing training for staff on how to recognise when people are vulnerable and how they should be looked after when in our care.
"Following Kelly’s death, the matter was referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct who looked into the conduct of five officers and two custody detention officers. One officer was taken to a gross misconduct hearing but retired before that hearing took place. The hearing determined that he would have been dismissed had he not retired. Another officer was subject to unsatisfactory performance procedures and management action.
"We are grateful to HM Coroner for examining this matter in such detail during the course of the inquest and to the jury for their careful consideration. As Lancashire Constabulary is a learning organisation, we will of course study their findings in detail and take on board any further lessons that we can.
"Once again, our thoughts and sympathies are with all of Kelly Hartigan-Burns’ loved ones at this time."
