The family is represented by INQUEST Lawyers Group members Cyrilia Knight and Isabel Gregory of Saunders Law and Una Morris of Garden Court Chambers. They are supported by INQUEST Senior Caseworker Jodie Anderson.
The below content has been reproduced from an INQUEST press release.
See coverage in The Guardian: ‘Terrified’ black man died after police restrained him, inquest hears
See coverage in The BBC: ‘Police response exacerbated death, inquest told’
Godrick Osei, a 35 year old Black man, died on 3 July 2022. He was experiencing a mental health crisis. This week, an inquest into his death concluded.
Originally from London, Godrick was staying in Truro, Cornwall at the time of his death. His family describe him as a deeply loved son, brother, father, and uncle; a gentle giant who was incredibly close to his family and had so much more he wanted to achieve in life, so many hopes he was holding onto, and someone who was trying to overcome the battles he was facing with his mental health following the death of his father.
Godrick was defined, the family told the court, by his heart, his kindness, his loyalty and his love for his family. They spoke of how his quiet but powerful presence made others around him feel safe and how his death has left a hole in their lives that can never be filled.
Godrick began experiencing an acute mental health episode in the early hours of Sunday 3 July 2022. He fled from his partner’s flat, and made a number of 999 calls asking for help and in which he expressed paranoid thoughts, including that he was being chased by people with guns. He then entered a nearby care home, saying to care staff “help me, they’re gonna kill me”. He then hid in a staff toilet where he could be heard screaming and crying out for help.
One member of staff from the care home told the jury that Godrick did not seem well at all, and that she was scared for him. Another said she believed he really was being chased and locked him inside with them as she thought it was the best way to keep herself and her colleague, the residents, and Godrick safe and to make it harder for anyone following him to get inside.
Care home staff also called 999, asking for the police and ambulance service to attend. Police officers arrived around 10 minutes later. At least eight Devon and Cornwall police officers attended and were present over the course of the incident.
Officers shouted for Godrick to open the door, as they tried to unlock it from the outside using a multitool. A small battering ram and crowbar were also brought to the scene. Godrick continued to call out for help. At one stage, the door was opened and Godrick could be seen on body worn footage looking terrified. PC Grimstead said he looked “confused” with his eyes wide open. PC Boxall stated: “there was a certain amount of shock on his face”. The officers all agreed that it was at this moment that they realised for the first time that Godrick was Black.
PC Boxall immediately told PC Grimstead to “red dot him” with her taser, which she accepted was a firearm. When Godrick complied with their commands to show them his hands, PC Boxall said “Fucking hell look at the sight of his fingers.” Godrick, peering round the side of the door, asked if they were really the police, and if he could see their badges. PC Boxall replied: “We’re in uniform, we don’t need to show you a badge, turn around and face the wall.” The officers continued shouting and then PC Boxall forced entry.
The family’s position is that when PC Boxall entered the room, Godrick was cowering down low with his hands up, open palms, with nothing in his hands. The family say that on looking at the totality of the footage, including PC Boxall’s body movements, from the noises you can hear and the tone of his voice a strong inference can be drawn that he kicked Godrick one or more times.
PC Boxall then dragged Godrick across the floor by his collar and put pressure on his shoulder, whilst saying “get your arse down there and fucking stay there”. It was also put to PC Boxall that he also put pressure on Godrick’s abdomen with his knee whilst he was being restrained on the floor. Godrick began to suffer a medical collapse under restraint whilst still being handcuffed.
Police guidance associates ABD with symptoms including bizarre behaviour, removing clothes, agitation, and sweating. ABD is regularly connected to restraint related deaths in custody, particularly where the person is experiencing a mental health crisis and/or has taken drugs. There is controversy around the term ABD (see notes).
Police at the inquest reported that they had been trained in ABD, but did not at the time recognise signs of it despite Godrick’s presentation.
Officers also misidentified Godrick as another Black man alleged to have committed an offence earlier that day. At the inquest, it was put to the officers that the only similarity between the two men was the colour of their skin and that the misidentification was evidence of racial bias. In response, one of the officers said that they had similarly wide noses, hair colour and large lips. It was also put to them that the aggression, force and language used was because Godrick was a Black man, and that the treatment he received was inhumane.
The Coroner agreed with the family’s submission that there was sufficient evidence to go to the jury for a conclusion of unlawful killing on an unlawful act manslaughter basis.
The jury did not return an unlawful killing conclusion, but they did find that the psychological distress Godrick experienced from his interactions with the police exacerbated his ABD which they recorded as part of his cause of death.
Godrick’s family, said:
“Godrick didn’t need force, he needed compassion. He called for help, but instead, he was treated like a threat. Our hearts are broken, and we will never stop seeking justice for the inhumanity he suffered.”
Isabel Gregory, solicitor for Godrick’s family said:
“The family are clear that instead of helping Godrick, the officer’s response was unreasonable, unnecessary, disproportionate and inhumane. Their training ought to have enabled them to recognise the signs and symptoms he was presenting with and to treat him as a medical emergency. Instead, they responded with aggression, force, degrading language and unjustified restraint. Godrick’s family have demonstrated incredible strength and determination throughout this long and difficult process, making sure that no stone is left unturned in their quest for answers and accountability.”
Jodie Anderson, Senior Caseworker at INQUEST said:
“In the space of just a week, we’ve seen two deeply troubling jury outcomes from opposite ends of the country—both effectively legitimising unnecessary and excessive police force.
The police response to Godrick was brutal and inhumane. Terrified and in crisis, he called 999 seeking help, fearing for his life. Instead, he was met with aggression and force.
Godrick’s death highlights a deeply embedded culture within policing: one that defaults to violence rather than compassion. From the Macpherson Report to the Casey Review, the warnings about institutional racism have been clear—yet nothing changes. When a Black man in obvious mental distress is treated as a threat to be subdued, when racial tropes and dehumanising language are used to justify that response, it becomes painfully clear: the police are not only ill-equipped but fundamentally incapable of responding to people in crisis.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, photo, and interview requests please contact Jessica Pandian on jessicapandian@inquest.org.uk or 020 7263 1111.
Other Interested persons represented are Devon and Cornwall Police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
In 2019, Devon and Cornwall Police were prosecuted for health and safety breaches relating to the death of Thomas Orchard in 2012. Thomas had been dangerously restrained by police whilst experiencing a mental health crisis.
Godrick’s death is part of a broader and longstanding pattern of a disproportionate number of deaths of Black men following police use of force, particularly those in mental health crisis. It follows the death of Oladeji Omishore, following Metropolitan Police use of force, whilst he was in mental health crisis just one month before.
Research by INQUEST in 2022 found that Black people are seven times more likely to die following police restrain than White people.
Acute Behavioural Disturbance (ABD): The Royal College of Psychiatrists report ‘ABD’ a term often used to describe a situation in which a person is extremely agitated and distressed, and in such a state of agitation that they may be at risk of a potentially fatal physical health emergency. Physical restraint is thought to significantly increase the likelihood of poor outcomes in this group of people.
There has been a move in the UK towards ‘ABD’ as a broader umbrella term for a patient presentation of severe agitation, distress and signs of physiological deterioration of unknown cause.
However, the term has attracted criticisms for it’s in explaining away contentious deaths following police restraint.
