The uncle of a Derry man whose body was recovered from the River Foyle three weeks after he was reported missing has raised questions over the ‘duty of care’ shown by the police to his nephew prior to his disappearance.
Gary Campbell (pictured), of Carrickreagh Gardens in Creggan, went missing on 21 March last year.
His body was discovered three weeks later on the banks of the River Foyle at Whitehouse at Carrigans just across the border on 12 April.
An inquest into Mr Campbell’s death was held in Letterkenny on Wednesday.
In his deposition at the inquest into Gary’s brother, Gavin,, said the prior to his disappearance he had received a call from his mother, Siobhan, telling him Gary had been ‘taken off the bridge’.
He said he had a fair idea Gary was attempting suicide, and then met the police.
He told the inquest police had left Gary with him.
The inquest heard Gary was very intoxicated and upset, but did not say what was wrong, but he did say that his head was ‘frying’.
They then took a taxi to his mother’s boyfriend’s house in Hazelbank.
Gary spoke on the phone to his girlfriend Caoimhe Moran.
About two hours later they went to her house and left Gary off at about 1.50am.
About 20 minutes later, Gavin Campbell got a call from Ms. Moran saying that Gary was ‘away again’.
Gavin rang his sister and they went looking for him..
Asked by the coroner whether Gary had threatened to do anything like this before, Gavin Campbell said that his brother had taken an overdose the year before.
He added people said Gary was depressed but he did not think this was so.
In her deposition, Ms. Moran said that on March 20, she dropped Gary Campbell off at the bookies and had then exchanged a number of messages with him on Facebook.
She said it was Gary’s birthday and later that evening, Gary arrived by taxi and came into her house.
He wanted to go to his friend’s house two doors away.
Ms. Moran watched him go down to the house and knock on the door. He waved to her and shouted. But he could not get into the house. She called to him to come back and went down the street after him. She had left her front door open and had no shoes on and went back to put them on.
That was the last time that she saw him, at 2.15 am on March 21, 2015.
The coroner’s court then heard the deposition from John Kelly, of Carrickmore, St. Johnston, who discovered the body along the shoreline at 11.50am in April 12 while out walking with his dogs..
The Coroner, Dr. Denis McCauley, noted that the post-mortem which was carried out at Letterkenny General Hospital (now Letterkenny University Hospital), showed that the alcohol level in the deceased’s body was three times the normal legal limit.
He added death was due to drowning in fresh water and that nobody had seen Gary Campbell entering the water.
A family member then commented that CCTV footage had shown Gary Campbell on the top section of the middle of Craigavon Bridge.
At this point during the inquest, the uncle of the deceased, Danny Campbell, raised the issue regarding duty of care.
He questioned why his nephew had been brought home by the PSNI and handed over to his brother Gavin.
He felt that a duty of care had been ‘missed’ by the PSNI in that Gary had not been taken to Altnagelvin Hospital for an assessment.
Dr. McCauley said that when someone made a suicide attempt medical help was generally sought.
He added when someone is intoxicated it does not mitigate the fact that they need to get a medical assessment.
Danny Campbell added that ‘Gary was no friend of the PSNI’ and would normally argue or put up a fight if he was being put into a police vehicle and felt this should have sent alarm bells ringing.
He said he was not looking to blame anyone, but what he was looking for was to see if there was any way the PSNI could see that there was a lesson to be learned.
Mr Campbell said he knew that they would never get the answer to the question why Gary had gone into the water, but there was a question about duty of care from the police.
Dr. McCauley, commenting that he was looking at the matter as a GP himself and an outside observer, said that when someone makes a suicide attempt they should get medical attention, and “the timing of that should be considered at the time.”
Mr. Campbell added police had told the family Gary Campbell had attempted an overdose the year before.
Dr. McCauley said ‘a previous attempt is a risk factor’ and added he could write a letter to the PSNI in relation to the matter to see if there is a protocol there.
He said that this would be a ‘practical avenue to follow.’
In conclusion, he said the role of the coroner’s court was to find the cause of death, and not to make a judgment.
The coroner said that Mr Campbell had drowned and he felt that a verdict of suicide was ‘probably appropriate.’
Mr Danny Campbell, on behalf of the family, expressed their appreciation to the gardai for the respect and dignity shown. Dr. McCauley and Sgt. Kevin Lynch, on behalf of the gardai, offered their condolences to the family.
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