A long-overdue report into how an Aberdeen man died in police custody more than nine years ago will finally be published this Friday, The Press and Journal can reveal.
Years of delays have plagued the Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into Warren Fenty’s drug overdose death, making it Scotland’s longest-ever ongoing FAI.
On June 29 2014, the 20-year-old ignored medical advice and prematurely discharged himself from the hospital, where he was then arrested, but no one at Police Scotland’s Kittybrewster custody centre noticed that he was dying in his cell.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) previously assured The Press and Journal that Sheriff Morag McLaughlin’s inquiry findings would be published at the end of January 2023.
The sheriff had heard the last of the evidence in February 2022 and held the inquiry’s final hearing several months later in May 2022.
Now, a Judicial Office for Scotland spokesman has confirmed that the sheriff’s determination will finally be published on January 5.
“We sincerely apologise for the delay in publishing,” he said, adding: “We fully understand the effect delays have on all those involved.
“This has been a complex and lengthy inquiry where the death occurred a long time ago and the completion of this determination has taken much longer than anticipated.”
Aberdeen police custody death still haunts Warren Fenty’s mum who anxiously awaits FAI report
The publication is expected to be critical of a number of people and procedures, with various issues being highlighted by the sheriff.
But Warren Fenty’s mum Sharon, who previously described herself as feeling “angry, empty and lost”, said she remains sceptical of getting answers about her son’s death any time soon.
“I’ll believe it when I see it because it’s taken so long,” she said.
“I’m not getting my hopes up because I don’t have any trust in them anymore as they’ve often left me hanging.
“The court service has put me through hell. I’ve got no faith in them anymore.”
Sheriff McLaughlin has previously slammed the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) for taking too long to bring the case to her courtroom.
She criticised the length of time the COPFS had taken to launch an FAI – almost six years – and ordered officials to submit a timeline to explain the lengthy delay.
It’s understood that it revealed years of unexplained inactivity, on which the COPFS told The Press and Journal it would not be appropriate to comment before the determination is published.
Delays in publishing Warren Fenty FAI findings into Aberdeen police custody death is ‘deeply unjust’
According to the COPFS’s website: “It might take a few days or a few months for the determination to be published”.
But it has been around a year and a half since Sheriff McLaughlin finished hearing all the evidence.
And since then, the SCTS has twice missed the publication deadlines it set itself, leading to the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) branding the situation “deeply unjust”.
The SCCJR’s Professor Sarah Armstrong, a criminologist at the University of Glasgow, criticised the legal system for failing Mr Fenty’s family.
“Since Warren Fenty tragically lost his life in a police cell in 2014, there have been 23 more deaths in police custody.
“That’s 23 more families left to wonder if a death might have been prevented.
“The aim of the fatal accident inquiry to provide an ‘effective and efficient’ system of investigating deaths to prevent future loss of life has not been met as the years-long delay in Warren’s case makes staggeringly clear.
“On top of this, the impact of this delay, and the lack of communication to explain it, is brutal for Warren’s family.”
‘I’m really angry’
Sharon Fenty added: “Since Warren died, my mind and body have gone numb. It’s really hard to feel anything or to even cry.
“I’m very angry but I don’t know where I can direct that anger. I’m not the old Sharon who I used to be.
“I was bubbly and outgoing. Now, I’m not. I’m quiet and keep to myself. I’m a totally different person.”
The grieving mum also told The P&J that, unlike justice officials, the publication of the FAI determination may not be enough to help her move forward.
“It’s maybe closure for them but it’s not closure for me. It never will be. My son’s not here. He shouldn’t have gone before me.
“I have a part of me missing that will never again be filled.”
Timeline:
- June 29 2014: Warren Fenty is discovered unresponsive in a cell at Kittybrewster police station’s brand-new custody suite.
- March 2020: The First Notice from the Crown intimating this matter was received at the Court.
- May 2021: Preliminary hearing in the FAI into the death of Warren Fenty.
- September 2021: Fatal Accident Inquiry begins.
- February 2022: Evidence to the inquiry concludes.
- May 2022: Hearing to discuss the final submissions to the sheriff.
- January 2023: Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service tells us “the determination in this case is due to be published at the end of this month”.
- January 2 2024: Publication of the determination remains outstanding.
At 7.04am on June 29 2014, Mr Fenty was discovered unresponsive in cell 28 at Kittybrewster custody centre, where he was later declared dead by paramedics at 7.25am.
He died in his sleep from methadone intoxication just hours after being locked up, following treatment for a drug overdose in the high-dependency unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI).
The day before, Mr Fenty had prematurely discharged himself from ARI – against doctors’ advice – and then police officers detained him in connection with potential drug offences.
He’d already received the intravenous drug Naloxone to counteract the effects of an overdose and, at the time of his detention, the young man was on suicide watch.
Police officers were required to visit the “high-risk” prisoner’s cell every 30 minutes.
But evidence heard during the FAI revealed that three checks weren’t made over a one hour and 45 minute period.
Other checks were “not of a satisfactory standard” according to Inspector Mark Flemming, a senior police officer who later reviewed the events leading up to the detainee’s passing.
In his evidence, the inspector noted that custody sergeants struggled with “having simply too much to do to be fully aware of any critical matters relating to prisoners”.
The court heard that Police Scotland has since doubled the number of personnel staffing custody teams on duty at Kittybrewster police station.
Insp Flemming also told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that there had been a “communication breakdown” between NHS Grampian and Police Scotland during the handover of Mr Fenty.
Sheriff McLaughlin was told there was a “significant gap” in information shared between those who came into contact with the deceased.
The FAI has also considered evidence from medical expert Dr Michael O’Keefe, who claimed Warren Fenty may have survived a drug overdose if his worsening condition was noticed sooner in police custody.
Dr O’Keefe, an honorary senior lecturer in forensic medicine at Glasgow University, said the custody checks were inadequate and didn’t follow the standard operating procedure in place at the time of the tragedy in 2014.
Kittybrewster police station’s custody facilities are now supported by onsite nurses working there round the clock, the FAI was also told.
National guidance, which details the necessary procedures when dealing with prisoners who have been administered Naloxone prior to custody, has also become available since Mr Fenty’s preventable death.
READ MORE: ‘I feel angry, empty and lost’ – Grieving mum’s agonising wait for answers
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