Dean died on the 30th June 2007 having been arrested and taken into custody at Burnley Police Station.
When the Police arrived on the scene Dean was arrested, handcuffed and restrained. An ambulance arrived at the scene but Dean was not examined. He was then transferred to Burnley Police Station where he was restrained in a cell, whereupon he collapsed and died.
The family said the following at the conclusion of the inquest:“After nearly three long years, we have finally been given the opportunity to hear evidence surrounding the death of our brother. As a family, we have always had concerns over the events that led to Dean’s death. In particular, the amount of force used by the police in detaining Dean, the period of time he was restrained for, and most importantly, the apparent failure to recognise the condition Excited Delirium and deal with Dean as a medical emergency.
“It still concerns us greatly as a family that after two weeks of evidence and after the death of our brother, most of the officers giving evidence in court still refused to acknowledge that lessons could be learnt. They still maintained that if presented with the same set of circumstances, they would treat Dean in exactly the same way. Given the fact that a young man has dies in their care, we are deeply shocked and saddened by this attitude”. Following the jury’s verdict, the Coroner confirmed he would be making a rule 43 recommendation to the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary in respect of the lack of training in dealing with Excited Delirium in their force.