Citizens' arrest inquest verdict in
Two men who made a citizens’ arrest on a suspected robber were blameless in his subsequent death three days later, an inquest has ruled.
A delay by police in giving David McTaggart potentially life-saving resuscitation while they waited for paramedics to arrive was also discounted by a jury as contributing to his death.
Instead, the 29-year-old from Wolverhampton, died as a result of the physical exertion and mental stress involved in the alleged robbery and its aftermath, together with the effect of stimulant drugs in his system.
Mr McTaggart, one of the most prolific car key burglars the region has ever seen, had been stopped in Stafford Street by two passing tree surgeons at around midnight on October 16 last year after they witnessed what they thought was a handbag snatch.
They pinned him face down on the ground for several minutes while waiting for police to arrive. But at some stage Mr McTaggart suffered a cardiac arrest and despite efforts at resuscitating him, he fell into a coma and did not regain consciousness.
During the hearing, Mr Huw Davies, representing the victim’s family, said that although they accepted he died of natural causes, the delay in officers performing CPR had been ‘a failure to give basic medical attention.’
He asked Black Country coroner Zafar Siddique to leave open to the jury the possibility that neglect was involved. But Mr Siddique decided there was no ‘direct causal link’. The tree surgeons, who made the initial arrest, said Mr McTaggart was fleeing the scene but turned to face them and there was a scuffle. They said he was still speaking when the police arrived after 10 minutes.
The officers handcuffed Mr McTaggart in the prone position but after he clearly became unwell they turned him on his back and removed the cuffs. One administered CPR until an ambulance arrived at the scene but he continued to deteriorate and died three days later at New Cross Hospital.
A post mortem concluded he died from a brain injury caused by lack if oxygen as a result of a cardiac arrest and the intake by a schizophrenic patient of stimulant drugs, including amphetamine and cannabis.
The jury took four hours to come to a unanimous narrative conclusion, stating: “A period of extreme physical exertion, mental stress and the use of stimulant drugs led to cardiac arrest and an unsurvivable acidosis which led to his death.” Unemployed McTaggart, of Greenwood Road, came to public attention in 2010, when it was revealed how he had stolen high performance cars worth £265,000from the Black Country and Staffordshire. Although the coroner had no criticism of police training, Mr Siddique said he would be writing to West Midlands Police suggesting they include specialist asphyxia guidance.
