A POLICE sergeant who failed in his duty towards a Newport man who died in custody was fined, while three of his colleagues were reprimanded, after an independent investigation.

Andrew Sheppard, 22, of Bristol Street, was found unconscious in his cell at Newport Central police station at 10.39am on October 1, 2006. He was pronounced dead at the Royal Gwent Hospital at 1pm.

A jury at Gwent Coroner's Court returned a verdict of misuse of drugs with gross failings in the system and level of care being a contributing factor.

Mr Sheppard was arrested under the Mental Health Act on September 30, 2006, after behaving irrationally and showing signs of paranoia after taking a number of drugs including cocaine and dihydrocodeine. He was taken to Newport Central and placed in a observation cell.

During the inquest the four custody sergeants on duty while Mr Sheppard was detained admitted failing in their duty of care towards him.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report found that the custody staff did not keep proper records, did not check on Mr Sheppard as frequently as they should have done and did not keep him under proper observation.

Tom Davies, IPCC Wales commissioner, said: "We sought expert forensic analysis which showed that in all probability Mr Sheppard had taken drugs during the time he was in custody, which shows how poor the observation of him had been that night."

The IPCC investigation led to one of custody sergeant being fined 13 days pay, three custody sergeants received reprimands and the four custody officers on duty at the time received management advice, along with the PC who detained him.

A file of evidence was sent to the CPS in respect of the officers and custody officers, to consider whether to charge them with gross negligence manslaughter or misconduct in a public office, but there was insufficient evidence to proceed with any charges.

Following the investigation, the IPCC made a eight recommendations to Gwent Police: * to produce a policy giving advice and guidance on dealing with individuals detained under the Mental Health Act * to ensure custody staff comply with the requirements of the Safer Detention Manual by requiring custody staff to check the custody unit infrastructure at the beginning of each shift * to carry out a review of current practices and procedures within the custody unit to ensure staff are aware of the legislative requirements place upon them * to ensure all custody staff comply with the requirements of code C of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 codes of practice and the guidance contained within the Safer Detention Manual as regards the risk assessment process and recording of information * to ensure all custody staff are aware that the use of CCTV to monitor a detainee does not substitute the need for physical visits, particularly when detainees who are suffering from the effects of drugs/alcohol * to produce a policy giving custody staff guidance on the capacity of custody suites and to circulate this guidance to support custody staff * to produce a handover policy for custody staff taking into account guidance given in the Safer Detention Manual * Gwent Police has already taken action to ensure that in the future there is a system in place to update Police National Computer records with warning signals.