A 68-year-old man died by suicide after jumping from the top of a phone booth inside an east London police station, following 18 hours in the public waiting area, an inquest heard.
Before the incident, Peter Jones wrote a suicide note and was seen rocking back and forth while talking to himself, but officers did not notice this behavior at the time, the court was told.
A jury concluded that had police recognized the warning signs, they would “more than likely” have intervened and prevented his death. Mary Hassell, senior coroner for Inner North London, attributed the incident to a lack of reception staff and warned the Metropolitan Police that similar tragedies could occur unless action was taken.
Mr. Jones died in November 2022 at Stoke Newington Police Station, sustaining severe injuries upon landing on the concrete floor.CCTV footage later showed that he exhibited behaviors indicating he was in immediate danger, according to the inquest verdict.
The jury found that the Met had failed to maintain “sufficient oversight” of the public reception area. The court heard that CCTV monitors in the station’s rear office were poorly positioned and that there were too few police staff in the public-facing area, with several officers instead seated in a back office.
Ms. Hassell also criticized the design of the flat-topped phone booth, stating that without it, Mr. Jones would not have had the means to take his life in that manner.Jurors concluded that Mr. Jones died by suicide.
The coroner has issued a prevention of future deaths report to the Met, urging them to take action to prevent similar incidents. “In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths, and I believe that you have the power to take such action,” Ms. Hassell told the force.
