THERE is "no evidence" to suggest a man who died after time in police custody was Tasered, an investigation has claimed.

Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, 24, was arrested at his Cardiff home on January 8 on suspicion of breach of the peace, but was released without charge the following day, January 9. Just hours later, he died suddenly.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been investigating the incident, and has released an update, saying it is making "good progress".

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IOPC director for Wales, Catrin Evans, said: “We are aware that there is a lot of speculation about the circumstances surrounding Mr Hassan’s death and we now know that some of that is inaccurate.

"As a public body we have a duty, when we are able, to try to correct misinformation that may be in the public domain.”

The IOPC has said investigators have listened to the original emergency call from the evening of January 8, in which a caller claimed five men had entered the Newport Road address and were fighting with the five occupants within the property.

It said officers’ body worn video footage shows that on arrival a number of the occupants had injuries, and were questioned by officers at the scene about where the injuries came from.

The IOPC has said it has found no evidence to suggest Mr Hassan was Tasered at any stage before or during his arrest. This followed a search of the flat, reviewing footage, officer accounts, pathology information and an audit trail of Taser use within the South Wales Police force area.

The investigation continues, with IOPC still gathering accounts from "a large number" of police officers and staff who were on duty at Cardiff Bay police station over two separate shifts and those who were in supervisory positions.

IOPC is obtaining detailed accounts from:

  • 11 officers who attended the Newport Road address on January 8.
  • 10 officers who attended the Newport Road address the following evening when Mr Hassan died.
  • 13 officers and detention officers who were on duty over two shifts at the custody suite.

Plus, IOPC is gathering accounts from 12 officers who have been identified from events linked to the Newport Road address around that time which do not include the arrest or sudden death of Mr Hassan.

Ms Evans added: “There is much more work to do to complete our investigation and our investigators continue to gather and review evidence to help us establish the events leading up to Mr Hassan’s death.

"We need to ensure we have spoken to anyone who may possibly have useful information to help us build a picture of what happened.

“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.

"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 enquiry.

“An investigation like this does take time and we would ask people to be patient while the investigation runs its course.”