Leon Patterson (23 December 1960 – 27 November 1992) was a 31-year-old man of mixed race who lived in north London and who died in police custody in Manchester, England.
[1] On arrival he told police he was a heroin user and complained of feeling unwell and suffering withdrawal symptoms, which included vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.
The first police doctor who saw him treated his nausea and vomiting with Stemetil, a drug that the manufacturer says can cause neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal condition.
The Coroner confessed himself “amazed” that a police doctor called to see a man who had spent the day lying naked on a concrete floor moaning and incoherent left him to remain in that condition without even suggesting that he be covered with a blanket or given a mattress.
During the rest of the day his condition deteriorated and he suffered incontinence but was left by the police naked and injured on a bare stone floor lying in his own feces.
The second explanation is that the coroner was sacked because of some remarks he made to Patterson’s twin sister, Stephanie Lightfoot-Bennet, who was representing the family at the inquest.
At postmortem examination it was found that part of his nose was missing, that he had severe bruising to his testicles and a total of 32 injuries covering his body.
The Home Office pathologist initially subscribed to the view that he had died from an overdose of nitrazepam, supported by evidence from a Manchester toxicologist.