A ‘struggling’ father died in custody after ringing the police for help, it’s claimed.
Piotr Rak, known as Peter and nicknamed Raku, was arrested by officers on Saturday morning (18 May) – but the next day he was dead in his cell.
Wiltshire Air Ambulance was scrambled to the Swindon custody suite at Gablecross Police Station at around 7.15am on Sunday (19 May).
The charity’s critical care medics, alongside local ambulance crews, provided urgent treatment but the 37-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
Father-of-one Peter had a heart condition and was battling drink and drug addictions, according to his family.
They believe police attended his call for assistance and found him drunk in his car, leading to his arrest and subsequent stay in Swindon custody.
Talking to Wiltshire 999s today (Monday), a family member who wishes to remain anonymous said: “We’re not happy with the police. They’ve not been there to keep him safe.
“He’s rang them for help and instead he died in their cells.”
They believe Peter should have been taken to hospital for treatment before he was thrown in the cells, rather than left to suffer from alcohol withdrawal.
“The police said he was on 15 minute checks, but if he was having an alcohol withdrawal, which he has before, he would go into a [seizure]”, they added.
“With the amount of alcohol that [the police] said he had in his body, they should have taken him straight to the hospital for a drip or had a medic there making sure he was okay.
“Instead they keep him there for 24 hours and then apparently at half seven [on Sunday] ring the ambulance. That’s 24 hours later.
“Anyone knows with an alcohol problem, he is going to have a withdrawal. 24 hours, that’s literally a death sentence and that’s what they did.
“To me, my uncle wasn’t a bad person; he was selfish because of his addictions but he wouldn’t harm a fly.
“My uncle’s always been a very hardworking person. He had his own business; he was a delivery driver and worked for bigger companies like Yodel too.”
Because of his struggles, his girlfriend moved back to Poland with their eight-year-old son earlier this year, and Peter then “hit rock bottom”.
The family member said they called Wiltshire Police at 3.49pm on Sunday – many hours after Peter’s death – to check if he was in custody because he was missing.
It’s claimed the call operator said the force had no record of Peter being in custody and encouraged her to check local hospitals. It wasn’t until around 5pm that police informed the worried family of his death.
They said they have received very little information about the circumstances due to the ongoing investigation – but hope to get a more in-depth update from police later this week.
Peter’s family have set up a JustGiving page to raise funds to cover the “costs associated with transporting the deceased to Poland”. Donate here >
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOCP) spokesperson said: “We have begun an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a man in custody at Gablecross police station in Swindon on Sunday morning.
“We understand that the man had been held in custody over the weekend and became unwell yesterday morning (19 May).
“An ambulance arrived soon after but sadly he was pronounced dead at around 9am.
“We were notified by Wiltshire Police shortly after and declared an independent investigation.
“IOPC investigators attended the police post incident procedures to begin gathering evidence.”
Wiltshire Police said they were unable to comment on the claims.
A spokesperson said: “As this is subject to an independent investigation by the IOPC, it would not be appropriate for us to comment.”
