Family seeks truth about man's arrest

THE RELATIVES of a schizophrenic man, who is still in a coma one year after a struggle involving police, say they have faced a "wall of silence" over the incident.

Glenn Howard suffered a heart attack after being arrested. The 46- year-old is now in a persistent vegetative state and requires constant care.

The case has led campaigners to call for police to be properly trained to deal with situations involving people with mental health problems.

The Police Complaints Authority has questioned seven police officers who were involved in Mr Howard's arrest after he went missing from a psychiatric unit.

His brother, Barry Howard, is still waiting for the report into the incident to be published. He hopes it will finally tell him if police officers used force to arrest his brother, who has no history of violence, and why he was deprived of oxygen before suffering the heart attack.

Glenn Howard, who has suffered from schizophrenia since the age of 20, was arrested on 10 December last year after he was sectioned to the Chiltern wing of Sutton Hospital, in Surrey.

He was taken there from his supervised accommodation after he refused to continue taking prescription drugs to stabilise his condition.

The Howard family has been told that police officers found Glenn at his home after they received a call from the hospital to say he had gone missing.

After a struggle, the policemen took him to Sutton police station. However, a custody officer said Mr Howard was not in a fit state to be detained and he was taken to St Helier hospital in a police van. After arriving at the hospital, he suffered a heart attack.

Barry Howard says his brother, a musician, had never been violent. He was first diagnosed with schizophrenia after he started hearing voices.

Mr Howard was told by doctors that Glenn was blue when he was brought to the hospital as a result of oxygen deprivation. He is now in a nursing home.

"Something must have gone tragically wrong. The consultant said they had probably used restraints on Glenn," said Mr Howard. "They said he was brain-damaged because he had stopped breathing for quite a long time. We just want some answers. Why has it taken a year for the police to explain what happened in that short space of time if the answer is straightforward?

"Glenn often went back to his flat to tend to his fish and probably didn't think he was doing anything wrong. Instead, the police treated him like a criminal when they knew he had been in hospital. He was ill and his condition was not self-inflicted. The police should be given training given to deal with situations like these."

Mr Howard, who lives in Carshalton, Surrey, now has to care for his father, who has arthritis, as well as visiting his brother every day.

"Glenn was a very intelligent and talented person who used to write all his own songs," he said. "Now all I can do is try and make him comfortable. Every night when I go to bed and every morning when I wake I see his face. I've got all his instruments here and wonder if he'll ever play them again.

"The vision of him haunts me. He can breathe on his own but that is all he can do. The hospital has asked whether I want him resuscitated if he has another heart attack. In some ways it would be kinder to Glenn if he was not here, but on the other hand miracles do happen."

Mind, the mental health charity, believes all police officers should be trained to treat the mentally ill as ill people, rather than criminal.

The charity is concerned that the Government's plan to introduce compulsory treatment for patients will lead to an increase in "heavy-handed" attitudes in cases such as that of Mr Howard.

"It's the old attitude of mad, bad and dangerous, but most schizophrenics are not dangerous," said a spokeswoman. "If someone came to my door I'd try and defend myself. We think dealing with people with mental health problems should be part of all police training. Some forces already do this. Mr Howard's case sounds shocking but sadly is not uncommon."

Chief Superintendent Bob Broadhurst, divisional commander for Epsom police, said a conclusion to the inquiry was "imminent" and he regretted any anguish caused to Mr Howard's family.

"A very thorough internal inquiry is under way into this incident and everyone involved understands the anguish of the family and expresses their sympathy for them," he said.

"It's also been a very distressing time for the police officers involved. If there are lessons to be learned by any of the agencies involved in handling schizophrenics these will be taken on board."