Independent watchdog investigating death of a man after police restraint

• An independent watchdog is looking into the death of a man who was held down by police and then died.
• Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has started an investigation into what happened.

An independent watchdog is looking into the death of a man who was held down by police and then died.

Hertfordshire Police said, they were called to Eleanor Cross Road, Waltham Cross, where a man was running around the street and seemed to be in trouble.

He died early on Saturday morning.

The force said it had gone to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The watchdog said it knew that the police tried to stop the man and used pava spray, which makes people unable to move, as they tried to hold him down.

It said that the officers thought the man was having a mental health crisis, so they also called an ambulance.

It is thought that the man got sick while he was being held down at the scene, the IOPC said.

Officers started CPR until paramedics arrived just before midnight, but the man was pronounced dead at 00:17.

Graham Beesley, the regional director of the IOPC, said, “Our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends, as well as everyone else who has been affected by this sad event.

“Our investigators have started looking at the video from all the officers who were there and will be going door-to-door in the area to find out more.”

He said that the IOPC investigation was in its “infancy,” and he added that it was important to do a thorough, independent investigation to figure out what happened.

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