Mustafa Dawood car wash death: Inquest concludes

During the fifth and final day of Mr Dawood's inquest in Newport today, Caroline Saunders, the senior coroner for Gwent, asked the jury to return their conclusions on the 23-year-old's death in 2018.

Mr Dawood was living in Newport at the time, but his application for asylum in the UK - on the grounds he was being persecuted in his homeland - had been rejected by the Home Office.

The inquest heard uniformed immigration officers had turned up, in a marked van, at the Shaftesbury hand car wash, in Albany Road, on the morning of June 30, 2018, following intelligence reports there were foreign nationals working there illegally.

Mr Dawood ran when an officer asked to see his boss, and members of the immigration team pursued the Sudanese national into a nearby warehouse.

Then, the officer in charge said he abandoned the pursuit when Mr Dawood started climbing shelving. According to protocol, all officers should immediately stop the pursuit and stand aside, if the order is given. But in this case, the inquest heard that the other immigration officers did not recall hearing the command.

Mr Dawood squeezed his way through a locked metal door, where he found an officer who was holding a baton. That officer said he did not hear any instructions to abandon the pursuit, the inquest was told.

Now on the roof of the warehouse, Mr Dawood presented "a real dilemma" for officers, who on the one hand should have retreated, but on the other hand couldn't leave until his safety could be guaranteed, the coroner said.

They searched for him for 20-30 minutes, eventually finding a hole in the roof that led into a locked area. Once they gained access, they found Mr Dawood unconscious on the floor, with a head injury and no pulse.

They gave CPR and Mr Dawood was taken to hospital in Cardiff, where a scan revealed his injury was unsurvivable. He died that afternoon.

During the proceedings, the inquest heard testimony from Mr Dawood's mother and his friend, who said the 23-year-old had feared for his life in Sudan and left for his own safety.

In their narrative conclusion, the jury found the officers had remained "relatively close" and not withdrawn from Mr Dawood after the order to end the pursuit had been given. This proximity could possibly have contributed to his death.

They also concluded the call to abandon the pursuit was not communicated effectively to officers. Again, this could possibly have contributed to Mr Dawood's death, as could the decision of one officer to keep his baton in a 'racked' position at his shoulder.

Officers had also not had appropriate practical training on the pursuit procedure, the jury said, and this could possibly have contributed to Mr Dawood's death.

Ms Saunders said she had heard evidence of some policy changes made after Mr Dawood died, but given the jury's conclusions, she would be making formal recommendations for further changes around the provision of practical pursuit training for immigration officers.

Finally, the coroner turned to Mr Dawood's mother, and said: "No one in court this week can have been unmoved" by the problems Mr Dawood faced in Sudan, and the events of June 30, 2018.

"You've shown such courage in coming to the UK and attending a foreign court, where you had to relive the events," the coroner said.

"On a personal note, I've been humbled by the patient, gracious way you sat through the inquest. Please accept my sincere condolences for the loss of your son."

In a statement issued after the inquest, a Home Office spokesman said they had "co-operated fully with the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s investigation, and accepted their recommendations".

"This was a tragic incident and our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Mr Dawood," they said. 

“We’ve made a number of improvements to our practices following the incident but will carefully consider the findings from the inquest and any further recommendations by the coroner to see what lessons can be learned.”