THE police watchdog announced today that the death of a black man nine days after officers used force to restrain him is to be reinvestigated.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said that it would look again at key elements in the case of 32-year-old Darren Cumberbatch, who died in hospital on July 19 2017.

The events leading up to Mr Cumberbatch’s death began when he suffered a mental health crisis at a bail hostel, McIntyre House, in Nuneaton, and took refuge in a toilet cubicle.

Warwickshire Police officers pursued him there and used force that “may have been excessive and avoidable,” a jury inquest found in 2019.

Officers attacked Mr Cumberbatch using a Taser, Pava spray, baton strikes, palm strikes, punches and thigh stamps. 

In the previous investigation, the IOPC treated the officers as witnesses rather than subjects, meaning that they came under less scrutiny, according to campaign group Inquest.

The watchdog has recognised it had not properly tested the evidence of the officers under a misconduct notice, a failing that amounted to a material flaw in the investigation. 

The decision by the officers to enter the toilet cubicle in McIntyre House and their use of force is expected to be further questioned this time.

In a letter to the family of the victim, the IOPC said: “As noted by the pathologist, the force used was a contributory factor to Mr Cumberbatch’s death. 

“The issues relevant to the use of force, including the decision to enter the toilet area and to remain there, are significant and were not sufficiently explored during the original investigation.

“The decision-maker acknowledges that this failure has the potential to undermine the public trust and confidence in the police complaints and misconduct system, which includes conducting effective independent investigations, as well as in policing generally.” 

However, the watchdog has decided not to reinvestigate the later restraint of Mr Cumberbatch in the car park at George Eliot hospital, despite submissions from his family.

Carla Cumberbatch, the dead man’s sister, said: “I welcome the IOPC recognition that their investigation was flawed and that it is in the public interest to reinvestigate the police officers’ conduct at McIntyre House … we had to threaten to judicially review the IOPC to get to this point.”