No charges over Matthew Terrill police custody death in Sheffield, as date for jury inquest is set

Matthew Terrill, aged 46, was being detained by South Yorkshire Police at Shepcote Lane police station when he died on April 22, 2020.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation, following a mandatory referral by the force, and its probe has now concluded, though the findings are yet to be published.

A pre-inquest review was held at Sheffield Coroner's Court on Tuesday, January 11, to set a date for the inquest and discuss the scope of the hearing and who will be called to attend.

David Urpeth, the senior coroner presiding over the hearing, told those present: “I’ve seen the charging decision from the CPS who have decided not to charge.”

He asked Mr Terrill’s sister Janine Aspinall, who was in court, whether the family accepted the CPS’ decision, and she replied that she couldn’t respond on behalf of the whole family but those she could speak for were ‘quite happy’ with the decision.

Mr Urpeth said the inquest would be an article 2 one and would be heard before a jury as Mr Terrill had died in custody.

He added that the scope would be to ‘consider what was the medical cause of death and what led to that medical cause of death, including an examination of whether any police actions or inactions caused or contributed to death’.

Five police officers have been listed as ‘interested parties’ in the inquest and the court is due to hear statements from them.

The inquest is scheduled to begin on March 16, with eight days set aside for the hearing.

Announcing the investigation following Mr Terrill’s death in April 2020, IOPC regional director Miranda Biddle said: “My thoughts remain with Mr Terrill's family and all those affected by this tragic loss of life.

“When someone dies following contact with the police, the force involved must refer the matter to us to assess whether we should investigate what has happened.

“Each death is a tragedy. Our role is to seek answers about what happened and share any learning highlighted by our investigations.”