Saturday, July 07, 2007

Custody Death family 'want truth'


all credits - BBC News

The family of a man who died after being taken into police custody say they are determined to find out the truth about what happened to him.

Nadeem Khan - known as Dean - died in hospital after falling ill at Burnley Police Station on Saturday 30 June. Post-mortem tests failed to determine how he died and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is awaiting toxicology tests.

Mr Khan's family said they had been left "deeply distressed" by his death. The 28-year-old was arrested in Brierfield at about 0900 BST on 30 June after reports of windows being smashed and violent behaviour.

After Mr Khan became ill he was taken to Burnley General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1030 BST. On Monday, the IPCC said initial tests confirmed that he had suffered no serious trauma injuries and had no natural disease.

The family said they were being kept informed about the IPCC investigation and urged people not to speculate about what happened to Mr Khan. In a statement, the family said: "Dean was a great son, brother, friend and dad and will be sadly missed by all who knew him. "Dean was a very generous person and would do anything for the people he cared about. He was protective of his family and friends. "He was the one who everyone turned to in the time of need and the family always felt protected when he was around. We just wish we were there to protect him. "There are a lot of questions to be answered and we are determined to find out the truth."

CCTV link in custody death probe >