Missed chances to stop man's death, coroner finds
GooglePolice who stopped a man during a first attempt to take his life "missed opportunities" to save him hours later, a coroner said.
Dean Bradley died in Stockton on 15 October 2021 a few hours after Cleveland Police had prevented him from killing himself.
Teesside senior coroner Clare Bailey said police and the hostel where he was staying overnight missed chances to secure "appropriate" mental health support.
The Cleveland force said it accepted the coroner's findings.
A coroner's report to prevent future deaths said the force had helped to stop an earlier attempt by Mr Bradley to take his life.
It said officers concluded he was under the influence of drugs and that he believed people were chasing him and wanted to kill him.
The force considered contacting a mental health crisis team but did not do so, the report said.
Ms Bailey said that was because officers believed the mental health team would tell them to safeguard Mr Bradley until he was "sufficiently sober" to be assessed.
He was taken to stay in a hostel for the night where he was shown CCTV footage so he could see he was not being chased.
Officers had decided the risk of suicide and self-harm had reduced and it was safe for them to leave.
'Gap in services'
However, the coroner said police did not "adequately relay" to the hostel's security officer about the circumstances in which they had found Mr Bradley.
Ms Bailey said hostel staff had made it clear at the inquest that it was not a suitable place for those experiencing mental health crises.
The coroner said she was concerned about issues surrounding safeguarding those with known mental health illnesses while they were intoxicated.
She said an officer had said during an inquest that other regions had crisis cafes where people who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol could be supervised while waiting for a mental health assessment.
"There appears to be a gap in the services available for people in this category [in this region]," the report said.
NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB said its thoughts were with Mr Bradley's family.
It said there had been an increase in community support for people with substance use issues.
Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Mental Health Foundation Trust has been approached for comment.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it was investing a further £26m this year to support people including hiring more staff.
Cleveland Police said it was "incorporating learning into future training programmes".
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