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- May 24, 2020
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Police officer tried in vain to stop Leonard Stanley man taking deadly poison — Gloucestershire News Service
A policeman tried in vain to stop a man from taking deadly poison after a dramatic chase along a road in Leonard Stanley, nr Stonehouse, an inquest heard on Thursday (March 25). Sadly the officer's efforts were in vain despite him catching and handcuffing 37 year old Stuart Wicks, the Gloucester in
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Police officer tried in vain to stop Leonard Stanley man taking deadly Sodium Nitrite
A policeman tried in vain to stop a man from taking deadly poison after a dramatic chase along a road in Leonard Stanley, nr Stonehouse, an inquest heard on Thursday (March 25).
Sadly the officer's efforts were in vain despite him catching and handcuffing 37 year old Stuart Wicks, the Gloucester inquest was told.
Mr Wicks, of Mankley rd, Leonard Stanley, managed to swallow sodium nitrite tablets as he ran along the road near his home trying to escape the police.
Even though the officer released him from the cuffs so that he could try to vomit up the poison he became unconscious minutes later and died after being rushed to hospital, the assistant Gloucestershire coroner Roland Wooderson was told.
Mr Wooderson recorded a conclusion that Mr Wicks had taken his own life.
In a statement to the inquest Mr Wicks' mother, Karen Wicks, said he suffered from a borderline personality disorder and was under the care of the Stroud mental health crisis team.
He had suicidal thoughts almost daily, she said.
On the evening of July 13th she visited him at his home and he was 'struggling,' she stated. He told her he 'couldn't take any more' and began to bang his head against a wall.
Mrs Wicks became very worried about her son and tried to contact the crisis team but could not get through so she called the police.
She waited outside in her car and saw her son come out of his home carrying a bottle. He told her he wanted her to hold his hand while he took it but she refused and at that moment the police arrived.
Mr Wicks ran off down the road for a distance of about a hundred yards, she stated.
An anbulance then arrived and took Mr Wicks to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital but he died the next day at 1.45am.
A post mortem report gave the cause of death as poisoning with sodium nitrite.
Sgt Ben D'Arcy of Stroud Police stated that he arrived in Mankley Road on the night of July 13 to see officers with a man who was lying on the ground. He was told the man was Mr Wicks.
"It was suspected he had taken a noxious substance," the sergeant stated. Officers remained with him for about 15 minutes until the ambulance arrived. "
The sergeant said Mrs Wicks took the police into her son's flat and they saw a white crystalline powder with 'sodium nitrite' on the label. Powder was scattered across the kitchen surfaces.
Pc Cockle told in a statement how he was sent to Mankley road and saw Mr Wicks standing on the pavmebt a few metres away.
"On seeing our police vehicle he started to run in the opposite direction at speed. He was five metres ahead of our car," said the officer.
"He was placing a number of unknown items into his mouth and consuming water from a bottle."
The coroner said the officer was able to exit the police car and take hold of Mr Wicks. They both fell to the floor.
"Mr Wicks was still trying to swallow something in his mouth and the officer told him repeatedly to spit it out," said the coroner.
"He spat a tablet out onto the ground. He was placed in handcuffs but he then told the officer he had taken 30 grams of sodium nitrite that he had bought on the Dark Web and he was now going to go into a coma and die in an hour.
"He said he was desperate and had also taken a number of other tablets to end his life. He said he needed to make himself sick to get the chemical out of his system.
"The officer released him from one of the handcuffs so he could make himelf sick. But afterwards Mr Wicks said 'It's still in my body and it's going to kill me.'
"He said the officers should not go into his property for their own safety. Three or four minutes later he became unresponsive and a short time later an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital."
Psychiatrist Dr Martin Petrov said Mr Wicks had been receiving mental health care services since the age of 8. He had made previous suicide attempts including jumping off a balcony and driving at 150mph. He had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable borderline personality disorder.
At the time of his death he was having regular support from the Stroud Recovery Crisis Team.
THIS REPORT IS THE COPYRIGHT OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE NEWS SERVICE AND IS NOT TO BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF GNS
