Hanged Burnley man’s last few days

Police officers and paramedics, who dealt with John Sample, 36, in the hours before he was drop-ped off at the Premier Inn, Queen Victoria Road, Burn-ley, told the court they were ‘satisfied’ he posed no threat to himself or others.

But the hearing, at Burn-ley Crown Court, was also told how staff from both emergency services were unable to ascertain what medication Mr Sample, who had been diagnosed with an acute psychotic disorder, bordering on schizophrenia, was taking.

Officers who took Mr Sample to the hotel said they ‘could not justify’ arresting him and that the chosen lodgings were the most ‘suitable’ for the evening.

The inquest heard how four officers, a paramedic and a technician, were called to a house, in Brunshaw Road, which belonged to John’s brother Ralph and was where he had been staying, at around 9.50pm, on January 27, 2007.

Reports indicated that a man with mental health problems was behaving in an ‘aggressive’ manner.

But both paramedics and police officers said Mr Sample was only acting in a ‘threatening’ way.

PC Andy Kent said: “I wanted to ascertain who was in the property and what had gone on, but Ralph Sample was in a state of exaggerated agitation and I got little information from him other than that his brother was there and needed sectioning.

“I asked what medication he was on and who his GP was, but I wasn’t able to ascertain any information.

“There were no potential weapons in the room and John was sat down and seemed quite calm.”

Mr Sample’s family said he should not have been left alone by police because of his vulnerable condition.

PC Kent added: “John seemed like a cracking chap. He asked if he could spend the night in the cells, but I could not justify arresting him because it didn’t seem proportionate to take his liberty.”

The inquest, expected to last four days, continues.

Burnley man released by police was found hanging