Sister of Diss man who died after 'serious failures' in police restraint methods speaks of her anger over the lack of an apology

The sister of a Diss man who died after being restrained by police has described feeling “terrible anger and regret” following an inquest into his death.

Kinga Kotowska spoke to the Diss Express after the hearing in to Krystian Kilkowski’s death, in which a jury highlighted serious failings in police restraint methods.

“None of the police have apologised to the family,” said 42-year-old Miss Kotowska, from Diss. “While I cannot speak about further proceedings, this is not the end of the matters.

“They said until the very end that it was not their fault. I hope that Krystian will have peace and that the guilty will be punished for the death of my brother.

“I have lived in Diss for three years and, because I have bought a house, I cannot easily move out, but I cannot bear to look at the police in Diss.

“Wherever I pass them on the street, I feel terrible anger and regret.”

In the wake of the inquest, Norfolk Police Deputy Chief Constable Simon Megicks said: “This is a tragic case in which a man lost his life, and our thoughts remain with Mr Kilkowski’s family and friends.

“Our officers were faced with a very challenging situation which was recognised by expert evidence at the inquest to be amongst the most difficult and complex any police officer or even a clinician can face.

“Officers suspected Mr Kilkowski to be under the influence of drugs and suffering a mental health episode, and understood he needed urgent professional medical care.

“Officers at the scene and the force control room made every effort to get Mr Kilkowski the help he needed, calling the ambulance service six times.”

Mr Kilkowski died on his 32nd birthday at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, shortly after midnight on August 11, 2020.

Police officers had been called to his home in Cotman Close, Diss, after receiving reports of a man acting strangely.

Despite officers attempting to engage him in conversation, Mr Kilkowski repeatedly told them he believed they were going to kill him and appeared not to understand why they were there, or why more officers had arrived shortly afterwards.

He fled on foot and was apprehended outside Morrisons in Diss, where he was restrained with handcuffs and two sets of leg restraints, while becoming increasingly agitated, for more than an hour.

Despite already being in handcuffs, two sets of leg restraints were applied.

The court heard that Mr Kilkowski was not told why increasingly severe methods of restraint were being used on him as he continued to struggle.

During the prolonged restraint, Mr Kilkowski was held mainly face down and he became visibly distressed, biting his own arms and tongue.

His tongue injury was described by a pathologist as the worst she had ever seen.

Police officers on the scene were waiting for an ambulance to attend, but miscommunication contributed to significant delays.

By the time the ambulance arrived, Mr Kilkowski was barely conscious, and an officer noted that he was turning blue.

A paramedic gave evidence that he was shocked by what he encountered and that the case of George Floyd – an American man who was killed by a police officer kneeling on his neck for almost 10 minutes – immediately came to his mind.

The jury’s findings, which were given at the close of the inquest on November 8, noted that the police’s approach had lacked leadership, that decision making had been inadequate and that there was a serious failure to keep Mr Kilkowski safe.

The jury concluded that Mr Kilkowski died “a drug-related death following amphetamine intoxication, leading to acute behavioural disturbance, which was exacerbated by a period of physical activity and further complicated by serious failures in the methods of restraint”.

“I am happy with the verdict,” said Miss Kotowska. “It was a long month and the stress of being there and watching these very drastic videos of the whole incident.

“I feel very sorry to talk about it because no one will ever give Krystian back his life and he loved his life very much.

“Krystian was always smiling. He loved life and he was a good man.

“He was also brave but never hurt anyone, and that is how I will remember him.”

Deputy Chief Constable Megicks said the force would be studying the verdict to see what lessons, if any, could be learned.

“Due to the delay in medical care arriving at the scene, he was restrained for a prolonged period of time, while displaying agitation and extreme strength,” he said.

“We will, of course, be considering carefully the jury’s detailed findings to explore whether there are any opportunities for learning.”