Police watchdog says Mohamud Hassan may have been injured during disturbance at home

The police watchdog investigating the arrest of a man who died suddenly after being released from custody, have indicated he could have suffered injuries during a large disturbance at his home the night before his death.

Lawyers have previously demanded that the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is investigating the contact South Wales police had with Mohamud Hassan, during his arrest and time in custody on the evening of 8 January, share evidence with his grieving family.

On Tuesday the IOPC said the investigation was making good progress and that they were in a position to share further information with the public. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition calling on the watchdog to release documents and CCTV footage detailing the contact between officers and the 24-year-old.

The IOPC said the new details, which have been shared with Hassan’s family and South Wales police, included information about the night before his death. It said that having listened to the original emergency call it could reveal that officers attended the Hassan’s flat in Newport Road, Cardiff, in response to a caller who said five men had entered the address and were fighting with five occupants inside.

The watchdog added that footage from an officers’ body-worn camera showed that on arrival a number of the occupants had injuries.

Further details were established from a search of the flat, officer accounts, pathology information, and an audit trail of taser use was requested. The watchdog concluded there was no evidence to suggest that Hassan was tasered at any stage either prior to or during his detention.

Hassan, who was of Somali heritage, was arrested at his Cardiff home on a Friday evening on suspicion of breach of the peace. He arrived at the police station just after 10pm and was released without charge the following morning. Officers said he left custody at about 8.30am. He died later that day.

Last month the Guardian revealed that Hassan had come into contact with dozens of police officers during the final hours of his life. The IOPC has now said that while not all had direct contact or involvement with Hassan, they were gathering accounts from 46 officers and police staff who were on duty at Cardiff Bay police station over two separate shifts and those who were in supervisory positions.

“We have concentrated on the footage from police body worn video and from CCTV at the custody suite which covers the time Mr Hassan spent there and his release from the police station,” said IOPC Director for Wales, Catrin Evans.

“As our review of this material nears completion, we intend to move on to scrutinise street and private footage which has been secured, which we hope will assist in identifying Mr Hassan’s movements following his release from custody, and may open up further lines of inquiry.”

Two weeks ago the watchdog said a police officer who accompanied Hassan to the police station in a van had been served a misconduct notice. The watchdog is investigating whether the officer failed to relay Hassan’s complaints of having a fit and being in pain when they arrived at Cardiff Bay police station.

Shortly after Hassan’s death, South Wales police said they had so far found no evidence of excessive force or misconduct. The force said a decision on whether the individual officer had a case to answer would not be made until conclusion of the investigation.

Hilary Brown, the lawyer representing the family, said relatives were keen to establish whether the five men who allegedly fought with Hassan and other occupants of his flat had been identified and spoken to.

Brown said the family had been distressed that the new information had been shared with them in the form of a press release. “They made no attempt to communicate this information to the family beforehand further enforcing the families view that this investigation is a tick box exercise that has given little or no consideration to the family and any further questions that they may have regarding the findings communicated to the press,” she said.