DYING MAN MISJUDGED.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 91, 16 April 1908, Page 6

DYING MAN MISJUDGED.

WARNING TO THE POLICE. " A remarkable case in which a life ; abstainer wh* had been given a little i brandy because he was ill was erroneously supposed by the police to be the1 worse for drink, and was arrested when, as a matter of fact, he was in a dying state, was described at an inquest at Battersea a few weeks ago. Coroner ; Troutbeck emphasised ■ the moral that it was very, dangerous to assume that because a person smelt of drink he must be drunk. The inquiry had reference to the death of Sidney James Fenton, 31, a tube attendant at the General Post /Office, living in Renmuir Street, Tooting Junction. According to the evidence, Fenton, a teetotaller, left the G.P.O. at 11.50 on Monday night, and mounted his bicycle to ride home. Near the Obelisk, at St. George's Circus; Southwark,. he grew faint and dizzy, and a few yards further on, in .London Road, he collapsed on l the pavement. Mr Walter Evans, an ironmonger in that thoroughfare, seeding that'Fenton looked very ill, carried him into a public house and gave ; him 4d worth of brandy in wate?. He to take Fenton home in his motor, but a constable objected, remarking, "You cannot take him home without me." ■■>' Mr Evans explained that the car would hold only two persons. *

The policeman, then, it is said, stopped a Tooting tram-car, and on it Fenton was allowed to proceed towards his home, in company with Henry Kingdom, hotel porter, of Kennington, who offered to accompany him. At Kennington as Fenton seemed much better, Kingdon left him. Mr Evans, Mr Reynolds, licensed victualler, of London Road, and Kingdon, all agreed that Fenton was not the worse for drink, Against this the. tram conductor asumed that Fenton was under the influence of drink, as he staggered a good deal, and "his breath smelt strongly of liquor. Fenton alighted at Stockwell, several miles short of his destination, as other passengers had suggested that a walk would do him good. The later chapters in the story were taken up. by a series of policemen. One constable said that at 3.20 a.m. he saw Fenton on the south side of Clapham Common. He complained of a bad headache. The policeman suggested that he had been "on the, booze," and Fenton, according to the officer, replied, "I had a drop last night." The policeman did not notice any smell of drink in Feiiton's breath. Another constable said that at 4.40 a.m. he saw Fenton "trying a shop window with a key." When spoken to he used bad language and struck witness in the chest. "I1 thought he was drunk," said the officer, "because .'he staggered so, and he smelt strongly of drink." / . - The Coroner : But another constable saw him at 3.20 and noticed no 5 smell

of drink—and the public houses were closed?— Yes, sir. The policeman added that he had to procure assistance to get Fenton to the station. Two other officers also said that from the prisoner's condition they formed the opinion that lie was drunk. Other evidence showed that Fenton was placed in a cell, given breakfast at 7.20, and visited at frequent intervals. About 1.30 he was found to be unconscious, and after being seen by the divisional surgeon was sent to the infirmary, where he died in about an hour. Dr McCormack, of the infirmary, said there was no smell of drink in Fenton's breath. "If there had been/ he added, "it would prove very little. He might have had a stimulant, but that in itself ought not to be taken as evidence that a man is drunk." Dr Freyberger attributed death to hemorrage of the brain, which was the cause of Fenton's illness and of the fall from his bicycle. The symptoms described by the police could be accounted for by the concussion, which often, made a man cantankerous.. There was no signs of alcoholism in the bcdy. Death was inevitable, and he did not think it was accelerated by the fact of Fenton having been taken into custody. The Coroner : Do you think the condition was one which could nave been diagnosed if the police surgeon had been called?— Yes; if the doctor had been called I think he could have diagnosed the condition. In summing up the coroner said it was clear that Fenton Was a perfectly sober young man. It was not wise of the Southwark policeman to refuse to allow Mr Evans to take the poor man home in his motor. Persons should be cautious in concluding that because a man's breath smelt of liquor he was drunk. '.' > The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. Some of the police witnesses were hissed as they left the court. .