DEATH IN A POLICE CELL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 108, 30 January 1908, Page 7

DEATH IN A POLICE CELL.

, THE. INQUEST. : ■ 'At the JlOrgue yesterday the District Coroner (Mr.; Jas.- Ashcroft) intiliireil into the oircuinstances sltrfounding the death of John Coaklsv, who Was found deiid,,in 0110 of ,tho Laiiibton Quily police cells at a.lnto hour. oilTuesday night. - Dr. Young'said that lie was. called'to tho station at about niidiiight on Tuesday, and thero foiind a (nan in 11 cell lying 011 l;is back. On examining liim *lio' foVilid that he .was." dead, and had bebii dead for about .three-quarters of an hour. There; were no signs of. (Violence. [ ./ 1 Sirs. Kate'.Coakley,"wife ,of the 'deceased, stated that- she 'had' been!.separated from the deceased for the past (01117. years. I 't was a legal, separation, obtained; On her own application.' Tho gl'oiiilds Were thiit' doceased was aliviiys drtiiik, and did iiot support her. tie .had been a porter on 1 1110 wharf at 0110 time.. She had three children by decc.ised. Deceased's lather suffered with his heart, and deceased bad becOiiie subject to fits since lie' took to 'drinking so much. As near 11s witness knew his iigo was about 39- . ' I)r. Gibbes said that iie had made a. postmortem examination of the deceased. .The membranes, of the brain were thickencd, aiid 1 slightly adhered: Death was due to pneumonia of tho Tuiigs, hastened by drink and !i weak heart. T'lic iuaii's state' Would not in all probtibilitv bo discovered,-inllesi lie coni|)lained himself. He wouldrrcxpect a mini in dc-iiciißCd's condition to dio any'whe.ro at any time. . Had .witness bfen called in at 0 or 10 p.m. there would have been little chance Of saving his. life—-it was acute pneli; nlOuia. ■ Pneumonia associated : with alcoholism was ouu of the worst combinations 0110 could meet.' ~ : , Constable M 4 Lcod said be arrested deceased at 2 p.lll. 011. Tuesday at the entrance of'tho Queen's: Wharf. Deceased was half asleep—hanging over a stone wall, and was in a very weak condition. Ho complained that ho wasn't well, so lie took him to tlui station. Deceased was not. drunk at the 'time, but during the twelve months that lie had known him ho was nearly always drunk or in a muddled state. The charge he, was locked up 011 was 41 110 visible, means of support." Ho had warned Jiim iibout sleeping out and drinking, and' at last 110 had to tell liim that he Was taking hi.hi to the station for his own .good. lie did 'iiot. suggest that, deceased should bo seen by'a doctor. Sergeant Pliair said that ho saw tho deceased after he had been brought into: the watchhouso, and had questioned'him as to his means of support. Deceased said that ho had been hid for some time, and unable to work. Latterly 110 had been,able to eiirii a little by selling fruit iu tho street. - Deceased did not Complain that ho was ill, and 'witness had no reason to suppose that ■he was suffering Trom anything but the. effects of drink. At 8.1") p.m. 110 saw deceased in company with the two wiitchliOuse-kcepers. :Deceased asked for a* drink of hot water, and X'onstable Leckie supplied him'.with three 'blankets and a pillow. Deceased was a big, stout, healthy man, and gavC 110 signs of illness. Constable M'Leod had not told him tlint deceased had complained of illness. 1 The Coroner: Ho should have dono that. Witness, continuing, said they had sent, for doctors frequently to attend to supposed cases of illness, but they-had never been really wanted. Persons under arrest could havo food or a doctor whenever they requested them. Constable Scott, one of the watchhousckeepprs, testified to finding the deceased dead at 11.35' p.m. when ho accompanied Sergeant Kelly oh his night visit to the : prisoners. . The jury returned tho verdict that deceased came by his death through pneumonia, accentuated by alcoholism and a weak heart. '