FAI criticises police after addict dies in cells

A teenage drug addict took heroin and died in a police cell as a custody officer surfed the internet, a fatal accident inquiry found.

Kristoffer Batt, 17, died after snorting drugs he smuggled into the Tayside Police headquarters in Dundee in November 2007.

A 19-day inquiry into his death found that custody care assistant Stuart Lewis failed to respond quickly to the Forfar youth's calls for assistance.

Mr Lewis admitted falsifying records of cell visits the night Mr Batt died, according to records published today.

The fatal accident inquiry was held in Dundee before Sheriff Elizabeth Munro, who ruled Mr Batt should have been strip-searched and classed as "highly vulnerable" given his previous history of drug abuse.

A fault in the computer system meant that records of Mr Batt's past spells in custody had not been transferred and did not show up when staff logged his details.

An investigation found the former Sea Cadet took diazepam before

surrendering to an arrest warrant at 4am on November 28.

Once in his cell at the West Bell Street station he snorted heroin he had smuggled in between his buttocks.

He used a torn-up cardboard tissue box.

Mr Batt, who suffered from behavioural problems including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), died between 7.06am and 7.46am, with the adverse effect of the drugs given as the cause.

One of the sheriff's main criticisms was a fault in the system provided for prisoners to attract staff.

The buzzer function had been turned off "some years" before Mr Batt's death and only the light function remained in order.

The inquiry ruled that Mr Lewis deliberately spent periods of time in a room where he could not see the light.

The sheriff said: "It beggars belief that all of the buzzers were switched off some years ago, that no record was kept of the decision to do so and that at the time of this inquiry, no explanation could be proffered for what had happened.

"It was, quite simply, disgraceful.

"In my view, if the buzzer system had been operating there is an evidential basis for concluding that Kristoffer Batt might have been able to attract the attention of Linda Peddie, the female custody care assistant, although it is unlikely that he would have been able to attract the attention of Stuart Lewis, the male custody care assistant, when the latter was ensconced in the Fingerprint Office, surfing the internet."

The sheriff said Mr Batt's call for assistance was "ignored" by Mr Lewis on two occasions, the first for a period of 49 minutes and the second for more than 15 minutes.

She said: "I am satisfied that the operation of the combined buzzer and light system was a reasonable precaution whereby Kristoffer's death might have been avoided, and have so determined.

"Nevertheless, there was an assistance light system operational on the night of 27/28 November 2007 and it was the failure of Stuart Lewis to fulfil his duties in connection with that system which resulted in Kristoffer's requests for assistance being ignored for long periods.

"Stuart Lewis deliberately chose to position himself in the Fingerprint Office for lengthy periods, where he could not see any assistance lights at all.

"He even failed to operate the system properly when he finally did attend Kristoffer's cell at 6.01am in that he failed to deactivate the assistance light."

The inquiry heard that Mr Lewis was disciplined following an investigation by Fife Police.