The inquiry into the death of a man from Gainsborough after police restraint continues at the Myles Cross Centre in Lincoln. The hearings have been investigating the matters leading to the demise of Robert Gracey, a 39-year-old resident of Morton Terrace, Gainsborough. Mr Gracey succumbed at Lincoln County Hospital in the early hours of 29 September 2021, subsequent to an encounter with the police in Gainsborough.
Evidentiary proceedings at this inquest unveiled a former police officer, Garry Firth, who confessed to striking Mr Gracey twice as a diversion tactic while he was being restrained and seated into a police van. The incident was recorded by a body-worn camera, the footage of which was presented to the jury. In it, the altercation can be seen unfolding shortly after midnight on the day of Mr Gracey’s death.
Mr Firth, now retired, articulated in a read-out statement that he presumed Mr Gracey was under the influence of substances and was acting in an aggressive manner. The intensity of the situation exacerbated, leading Mr Firth to resort to the use of physical force to subdue Mr Gracey who, he reports, showed substantial resistance. Mr Gracey later became non-reactive in the transit to Lincoln Police Station and was declared deceased at the hospital.
This process of judicial inquiry has also seen moving testimony from Mr Gracey’s wife, Zoe. She has narrated the harrowing nature of the final hour of her husband’s life. The jury is now in consultation, to decide the sequence of the preceding events that resulted in the premature death of Mr Gracey. These proceedings are ongoing.
The Lincoln Post has adapted this story from original reporting by www.bbc.com.
