Teenager dies after falling ill in police custody at Liverpool One
A teenager has died after falling ill while in police custody at Liverpool One in the city centre.
A teenager has died after falling ill while in police custody at Liverpool One in the city centre.
The 18 year old, who hasn't been formally identified had been detained by security staff and was following an incident at the shopping centre when he became unwell at around 6.30pm.
An ambulance was called and paramedics arrived and took the man to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital where he was pronounced dead by doctors.
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Following enquiries the man has been identified as an 18-year-old black male from Liverpool.
Police officers are in the process of informing his family of his death
A police spokesperson said the force’s Professional Standards Department has notified the Independent Police Complaints Commission and this is now subject to an independent IPCC investigation.
This afternoon they've released a further statement about events leading up to the man's death yesterday evening.
Following an incident at Liverpool One last night in which an 18-year-old man later died in hospital, Merseyside Police can confirm that specialist officers are providing support to his family during this difficult time. We also offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends. We are working closely with community leaders in Toxteth, who we have developed strong relationship with, over the years, in order to ensure that the community and the man's family are kept supported and informed in the coming days and weeks. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is carrying out an independent investigation following the 18-year-old's death due to the fact that police officers had involvement with him during his detention by security staff at Liverpool One. The IPCC investigation will review all the actions taken on the night of his death. We are fully co-operating with their investigation and, whilst we are committed to being open and transparent, the nature of the IPCC investigation does limit the amount of information we can provide as we cannot be seen to influence or compromise it. However we can say that just after 6pm last night Merseyside Police received about a man having run into a house in the Toxteth area in a distressed state. The man then left the address when seen by the occupier. The force then received further calls from the public describing a man with a knife behaving erratically at a number of locations throughout the city centre, including Liverpool One. The man was eventually located near to Liverpool One by security and police where it was quickly established that he appeared to be suffering from a medical episode. An ambulance was requested and quickly arrived. He was taken to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital where he was pronounced deceased at 7.53pm. The matter was immediately referred to the IPCC because of police involvement with the man before he died. A Home Office post mortem examination will take place today at 3pm. We fully support and would like to reiterate the IPCC's request for anyone who witnessed anything that could help their investigation to call the IPCC on 0800 096 9070 or email witness@ipcc.gsi.gov.uk