Man who died after being restrained in York jewellery shop ‘not killed unlawfully’

A “gentle giant” who died after being restrained face-down for seven minutes following an altercation with a jewellery shop security guard was not killed unlawfully, a coroner has found.

Sam Diatta, 39, went into cardiac arrest while being held on the floor of Mappin and Webb jewellers in York on July 26 2022.

An inquest heard Mr Diatta, who had bipolar disorder, was suffering an acute mental health episode when he went into the shop and told security guard Gary Prothero that he had 18,000 TikTok followers and wanted to take pictures of the watches, demanding three free watches in return.

When Mr Prothero asked him to leave, he threw several punches at him, before another customer came over to help.

CCTV footage showed Mr Diatta being tackled to the floor and two more members of the public coming to help, meaning he was being held down by four men when police arrived.

Two pathologists said that the medical cause of death was hypertensive heart disease combined with the effects of being restrained, with one telling the inquest that the position Mr Diatta was being held in would have reduced his breathing.

After Mr Diatta’s death, police arrested four men – but later said no-one would face any charges.

On Thursday, coroner Jon Heath said Mr Diatta’s family had asked him to consider that the “disproportionate use of restraint was an unlawful act” as it was “dangerous and likely to cause injury”.

But Mr Heath said none of the four men knew of Mr Diatta’s mental health issues or heart condition, and did not believe he was struggling to breathe.

The coroner said Mr Prothero had been hit in the face and was acting in self-defence when he initially restrained Mr Diatta.

He said the other men involved thought there had been a robbery, and all of them were restraining Mr Diatta because the police had been called.

Mr Heath concluded that Mr Diatta’s death did not amount to manslaughter, and was not an unlawful killing.

He recorded a narrative conclusion that Mr Diatta died as a consequence of naturally occurring heart disease combined with the effects of being restrained.

The inquest heard that Mr Diatta had been discharged from a psychiatric hospital four days before his death, and his family said they believed he was not well enough to be living in the community at the time.

In a statement read after the hearing by their barrister Parissa Najah, Mr Diatta’s parents George and Judy, and his sister Teba, said: “On the fateful day of Sam’s death he was suffering an acute mental health episode.

“He was restrained, face down on the floor for more than seven minutes, during which time he shouted: ‘I can’t breathe’. Tragically, those words were not heeded.

“Being restrained in that position, for so long, by several men was established by the coroner as being part of the medical cause of Sam’s death.

“The family remain convinced that Stan was not well enough to be living in the community in the days prior to his death, due to the concerns about his mental health and how it had deteriorated.

“Their view is reinforced by the fact that, just four days after his discharge from hospital, Sam lost his life in circumstances that could have been avoided.”

Teba Diatta said: “Sam wasn’t a bad person. He was having a really bad day due to his mental health, and he was a lovely, gentle soul.

“He was very forgiving. He was kind, he was loving, he was generous. We really miss him. And we just don’t want him to be remembered for an act of violence on a day that he was so poorly.”

She added: “We choose forgiveness, we don’t want to hold it against any of the people involved.”

The family said when Mr Diatta was 20, he jumped into the River Ouse to save a woman who was trying to kill herself, and that heroic act was “typically him”.

After his death, Mr Diatta’s family said he was “a gentle giant, who was kind and generous and loved by all who met him”.

They said: “Sam was half Senegalese and his family in Senegal meant the world to him. He was a keen sportsman and supported both the England and Senegal football sides. He also played for York RI rugby team.

“Sadly, in his later teenage years Sam developed mental health issues which stayed with him throughout his life.

“He had a strong Christian faith and with two others led the Christian Union at York College.”

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