Jaroslaw Kawala died due to crash on A1 at Colsterworth, investigation into Lincolnshire Police finds

An investigation has found police officers were not responsible for the death of a man who collapsed in their custody. An independent police conduct investigation decided Lincolnshire Police officers acted correctly following the death of Jaroslaw Kawala, who was arrested and detained at Grantham Police station on December 21, 2022. On that day, Mr Kawala, 51, was driving an HGV.

He left the carriageway on the A1 at Colsterworth and his vehicle ploughed through a hedge.

A Google Streetview of Grantham Police Station, in Swingbridge Road.

Lincolnshire Police later arrested Mr Kawala on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol. He was taken to Grantham Police station where his detention was authorised after 5pm on December 21.

Half an hour later, he collapsed in the custody booking area and was given basic first aid by an officer and a healthcare professional. An ambulance was requested which took Mr Kawala to Queen’s Medical Care, in Nottingham.

Mr Kawala died at 8.40pm that evening. An independent police investigation was launched on December 22 and all police officers were treated as witnesses during the investigation.

When officers arrived at the accident scene, they saw minimal damage to the HGV, the air bags had not deployed, and Mr Kawala had no visible injuries. Officers said they had asked Mr Kawala if he had any injuries and he replied that he had not.

Mr Kawala was able get out of the HGV cab and walk to the police van unassisted. He gave a positive breath test for alcohol and officers arrested him for drink driving. Mr Kawala had a medical episode shortly after arriving at custody.

The independent investigation found that officers responded promptly, calling an ambulance, providing first aid and requesting a health care professional, in line with their training and guidance for medical emergencies.

Independent investigators reviewed dash camera footage from a vehicle travelling behind the HGV before it left the road, and CCTV footage from the custody suite.

They also examined accounts provided by police officers, the ambulance service, and from an independent witness, and the post-mortem examination report. The post-mortem exam had found Mr Kawala’s medical cause of death to be due to an abdominal haemorrhage caused in the road accident, and alcohol intoxication. Mr Kawala is believed to have sustained the injury as a result of his stomach hitting the steering wheel.

The investigation found that police officers could not have known Mr Kawala had suffered internal bleeding, which would have only been apparent with specialist medical testing and expertise. Derrick Campbell, the Independent Office for Police Conduct regional director, said: “I would again express my condolences to Mr Kawala’s family at this difficult time. “At the end of our investigation in June this year, we found no evidence that police had contributed in any way to Mr Kawala’s death.

“We found that officers had acted in accordance with policy and procedures both at the accident scene and during his brief detention.”

At an inquest in Lincoln today (Friday, November 24), the coroner determined that Mr Kawala died as a result of a road accident.