A man who was arrested on suspicion of stealing sausage rolls was found dead after police mistakenly said he was a paedophile. Brian Temple, 34, had been detained over allegedly taking the pastries from Greggs.
However release papers were incorrectly completed by police. And instead of giving his alleged crime as the theft of the pack of sausage rolls they wrongly said he had been in custody for inciting sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl.
This was incorrect with it later being blamed on "human error". Tragically Mr Temple had not realised the mistake and handed the papers to his girlfriend who then began to tell people of the wrong allegations, reports Teesside Live.
An inquest on Monday was told how this then led to people attacking the man from Redcar. He suffered both physical and verbal abuse and was even attacked in his own home and hit on the head with a golf club.
Teesside Coroner's Court was told how Mr Temple turned to drink and both prescribed medication and recreational drugs, including cocaine, to deal with the nightmare he was facing. But the whole experience had left him depressed and "closed off" .
On December 31, 2017 - six months after his arrest on June 8 that year - the 34-year-old was found dead. While he had both alcohol and a mixture of drugs in his system these had not contributed to his death which was as a result of hanging, the inquest was told.
His body was found by his brother Anthony, after his mum's partner, Paul Daley, became concerned that they had not heard from him all day. Coroner officer Nick Owen read statements from Mr Temple's brother Paul, sister in law Crystal and mum Mrs McLachlan, who has since passed away.
His mum described her son as "happy go lucky" but that the ordeal with incorrect release papers caused him to become closed off and depressed. The court heard that after news spread of the release papers, Mr Temple reported threats and assaults to the police, and the force's welfare checks reportedly made this worse and somewhat fuelled the fire of the incorrect rumours.
His brother Paul, who was in attendance at the inquest at Teesside Magistrates Court, spoke of his closeness to his brother and how they'd grown up being "anti drug". He explained Mr Temple began taking drugs to cope with the constant attacks and assaults he was experiencing in the months leading to his death.
Although he had depression, Paul explained in his statement that his brother never indicated suicidal tendencies. He said the mistake on the release sheet "would drive anyone mad".
In her statement, Mr Temple's sister in law Crystal explained how the mistaken charge sheet was found in his pocket at the time of his death. She said she believed the police had a "duty of care" for vulnerable people such as her brother in law, as he was suffering from mental health issues at the time of his arrest.
Mr Owen read out numerous statements from police officers who had dealt with Mr Temple in the run up to his death, and around the time of his arrest and the incorrect papers being issued. Detective Sergeant Agar of Cleveland Police said in his statement that he had dealt with Mr Temple's complaint of the incorrect papers on November 28, 2017, and had said the bail sheet was "a genuine human error".
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began an investigation after Mr Temple's death, so an error like this one would never happen again at Cleveland Police. They concluded that human error was the main judgement of the papers and this occurrence was "incredibly unusual".
The inquest continues.
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