Police offer 'sympathy' to the family of Greggs-theft-accused who had been wrongly handed sex crime

Brian Temple, 34, died months after being arrested for allegedly stealing Greggs sausage rolls - but was released from police custody with papers wrongly saying he had been arrested over a child sex offence, inquest hears.

Cleveland Police's Middlesbrough Headquarters

Police have offered their 'sympathies' following an inquest into the death of a man who had been issued incorrect release papers - wrongly saying he had been arrested over a child sex offence.

He had been arrested over the alleged theft of sausage rolls from Greggs.

Brian Temple's two-day inquest at Teesside Coroners Court concluded that drugs and alcohol hung the Redcar man. It could not be proven as suicide.

Mr Temple, 34, died on December 31st, 2017. Six months before his death on June 8th, he had been arrested for the bakery chain's alleged pastry theft. Still, upon release from police custody, he was given incorrect release papers detailing a sexual offence.

The police detention officer on shift had pressed the enter key and selected the incorrect offence for the documents. So instead of reading theft, it read "engaging 13-15-year-old in sexual activity".

After arriving home from custody, Mr Temple gave his release papers to his then-girlfriend, unaware of the glaring false error. Mr Temple's then-girlfriend told people the incorrect information, which caused people to lash out at him. He was verbally abused in the street, attacked in his own home, and hit around the head by a golf club.

The officer, employed by an external company, has since received management advice and changes to the IT system. This is likely to never happen again, the second day of the inquest on Tuesday, June 21st, at Teesside Coroners Court.

Coroner Claire Bailey heard evidence from Cleveland Police officers who had worked with Mr Temple before his death in December 2017. Police Constable Chris Stoddard was the first officer to give evidence, explaining in his statement that the detention officer did not check before printing and handing the release papers to him.

In a statement by Coroner Officer Nick Owen, Cleveland Police's Chris Stoddard explained to the court that since this, there had been a "DO NOT USE" button added to the system, so this error is improbable to happen again. Custody manager Sergeant Perry gave evidence and added to Mr Stoddard's statement that an incorrect charge could no longer be selected under this new formatting system.

Police Community Support Officer Alison Coaker also gave evidence at the hearing, explaining that she had grown up in Redcar alongside the Temple family and had known Mr Temple since he was eight. She described him as 'mischievous' and a "cheeky chap". She explained she often met him on Redcar's high street, where he would socialise with peers and sometimes allegedly steal from supermarkets to fund his alcohol addiction.

Police Community Support Officer Coaker explained Mr Temple never mentioned the incorrect charge papers and was never aware of the rumours circulating the community, which accused him of being a paedophile. She described him as "quite nice" when he was sober and was shocked to learn of his passing when she found out in early 2018.

Police Constable Holly Williams, also present in court, said she visited Mr Temple's property on Redcar's West Dyke Road in the weeks following his death for a safeguarding check. She explained he did not want officers present at his home as he believed it would make the rumours seem more vital, so he tried to distance himself from officers.

She explained she did not investigate Mr Temple's history and release papers before the visit but had brief knowledge of the assaults he had been the victim of because of rumours, the hearing was told.

The final person to give evidence on behalf of the force was former civilian investigator Michael Stokes, who apologised to Mr Temple's family, and passed on his condolences before reading out the statement he gave to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. He explained that on December 1st, 2017, he received the complaint from Mr Temple about the mistakes on the charge sheet and then visited him and his family with Detective Constable Hunt to speak to him in person.

They consulted with Mr Temple, who was happy to go forward with a police complaint and wanted steps to ensure this would never happen to anyone else. After his death, the Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an investigation into Cleveland Police and the circumstances around the error on the release papers.

Upon hearing evidence from police, statements from Brian's family, and HMP Durham and Holme House staff - where Mr Temple spent nine weeks between September and November 2017 - Coroner Bailey concluded. She ruled that his death could not be proven as a suicide due to the drugs in his system potentially affecting his mindset, but instead ruled that he was found "hanged under the influence of alcohol and drugs".

Coroner Bailey added that Cleveland Police had since made changes. Therefore, a "preventing future deaths report" would not be needed for the force.

After the inquest, a Cleveland Police spokesperson said: "Cleveland Police offer our deepest sympathies to the family of Mr Temple at this tough time. Following the tragic death of Mr Temple, Cleveland Police have implemented changes to the information people are given on release from custody, and we have been fully engaged in the inquest process."