Leroy Junior Medford – known to family and friends as Junior – died on April 2, 2017 at Loddon Valley Police Station in Reading, more than 15 hours after he was arrested on suspicion of assault. Thames Valley police have admitted to violating Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to life, by failing to take reasonable steps to try to prevent Medford’s death when there was a real and immediate danger to his life. In a letter dated May 2022, seen by the Guardian, the deputy chief of police force, Jason Hogg, apologized to the Medford family “for this violation and the grief and anguish it has caused children and Junior brothers’. He continued: “The officers who were in charge of conducting continuous observations in Junior were not able to make these observations adequately. This reflects the non-compliance with the standard operating procedure of our medicines and the lack of knowledge of some important details of this procedure. “This failure gave Jr. the opportunity to swallow the drugs he had hidden in his face, which then leaked, causing his death. “The caretaker sergeant’s belief that the observations had been made led to the misinformed decision to deduct the possibility of ingesting drugs, which meant that no further medical examination was considered. “Junior’s death was tragic and could have been avoided. “Although we believe that no word will cure the pain of Junior’s death, we hope that this letter of apology can offer you some consolation.” The court in the investigation into Medford’s death concluded that there was “a clear lack of awareness” and that the failure of the Thames Valley Drug Enforcement Police to follow through on all of Medford’s officers contributed to his death. . The failure of police officers to conduct adequate follow-up observations, giving Medford the opportunity to swallow drugs he was suspected of possessing, has been described as the main factor contributing to his death. Medical examiner Heidi Connor wrote to police chiefs and leaders to address systemic issues raised by the case, particularly with regard to the way training is disseminated, and called for a national review of how police officers are trained.
