Leon Patterson (23 December 1960 – 27 November 1992) was a 31-year-old man of mixed race who lived in north London and who died in police custody in Manchester, England. Arrest On 21 November 1992, Patterson was arrested on suspicion of theft from a BHS department store and was taken to Stockport police station by officers from Greater Manchester Police. On arrival he told police he was a heroin user and complained of feeling unwell and suffering withdrawal symptoms, which included vomiting, nausea and diarrhea. The police fed his name into the Police National Computer that told them, incorrectly, that he was an escapee. He had in fact failed to return to prison from home leave but this false information affected police perception of him and they are believed to have suspected that his “symptoms” were at least in part a strategy to aid in his escape, and one of the three police doctors who saw him even wrote this conclusion on his custody record. The first police doctor who saw him treated his nausea and vomiting with Stemetil, a drug that the manufacturer says can cause neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal condition. Court appearance Patterson was due to attend court on 26 November by which time his condition had worsened. At 5.00 a.m. he was found in his cell naked and collapsed and apparently unconscious. A police doctor was called and found him conscious but mumbling incoherently. This doctor was unable to make a proper examination but nevertheless deemed Patterson fit to be detained. By 8.30 a.m., despite the fact that his condition had not improved, the police made a decision that he should attend court and he was placed, still naked and with his hands handcuffed behind his back, on the floor of a police van in which he was taken to court. He was placed face down and naked on the floor of a cell at the court. His solicitor requested that Leon be taken to the local hospital but this request was ignored. Police did make attempts to get Leon admitted to the hospital at Strangeways prison but these were unsuccessful. A decision was made that he was not fit to attend the court and he was again placed naked and handcuffed on the floor of the police van and was taken to Denton police station five miles away. Death A doctor was