A POLICE officer cleared after an investigation over a video showing him hitting a Sheffield woman during an arrest died of natural causes from pneumonia, a coroner ruled today.
The inquest heard that despite taking a 'massive' dose of Nytol, South Yorkshire PC Anthony Mulhall, 43, was not killed by the sleeping tablets he had consumed or the weather.
He was reported missing from his home in Braithwell, Rotherham, on July 16 and died in hospital two days later after he was found lying on the ground by a walker in the Nantmor area near Mount Snowdon, in North Wales.
North West Wales Coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said Mr Mulhall – who was cleared of any wrongdoing over the video-taped arrest – was 'possibly' there to attempt suicide after taking six packets of Nytol, found during a search of his rucksack.
But he added the question on the cause of death was irrelevant as he died from natural causes.
Announcing the verdict Mr Pritchard Jones said: "It was the lobar pneumonia on its own that killed him and Nytol really had nothing to do with it.
"Had he been at home he would have probably felt the effects of the pneumonia developing and he would have probably sought medical help."
Dr Mark Lord, who performed the post-mortem on Mr Mulhall, told the inquest PC Mulhall may not have been aware he had pneumonia before setting off to Nantmor.
Speaking about how the Nytol may have affected PC Mulhall, Dr Lord told the inquest: "The only complication is that he would have been less aware of his symptoms and the severity of them."
PC Mulhall's death came just months after Michael Todd, the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, was found dead on Mount Snowdon in March this year.
In October an inquest heard Mr Todd died from exposure after taking a cocktail of drink and drugs after his personal life unravelled following his wife Carolyn's discovery of his affair with another woman.
His body was later found on a mountainside in appalling weather. He had drunk gin and taken sleeping tablets.
Mr Jones told the inquest at Arfon Council Chamber in Caernarfon, North Wales, that although his 'first reaction' was that the case of PC Mulhall was suicide, particularly following the death of Mr Todd, an investigation and post-mortem had shown the natural cause of death.
During the search of his rucksack at the hospital, a police officer found six empty packets of Nytol, which had contained 16 tablets each.
PC Mulhall's wife, Letitia, said her husband had started taking Nytol tablets in May after he had trouble sleeping. Mrs Mulhall said she had 'noticed a change' in his behaviour but did not know the reason for his difficulty in sleeping or why he had become withdrawn. She told the inquest she thought it may have been to do with his work.
Also in Mr Mulhall's rucksack were three one litre bottles of sloe gin. One was half-full.
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FeaturesSouth Yorkshire's green newsMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport.The full article contains 548 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
