IPCC Investigate Gatwick Rail Death

Police were sent to reports of a man acting strangely at a shop in the West Sussex airport's South Terminal at around 2.50am this morning.

After communicating with the foreign-speaking man via a telephone interpreter, officers walked him to the train station concourse, Sussex Police said.

Minutes later, at 3.30am, the man tried to commit suicide with a bottle he broke. Police intervened and tried to restrain him as they and others gave first aid.

However, he died after being taken to an ambulance, a police spokesman said.

Investigators from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) are examining the circumstances leading up to his death because of the contact officers had.

Chief Superintendent Paul Morrison, Sussex Police, said: ``This is a traumatic event and Sussex Police is co-operating fully with the IPCC on an investigation, which still in the early stages.

``It was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as police had contact with the man before his death.

``Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the investigation we cannot add any more detail at this time, other than to say it is not terrorism-related.''

Police believe they know the identity of the 33-year-old man but have not publicly disclosed it yet as officers seek to trace his family. Airport and railway services are running normally.

A Taser was used on the man by officers after he was seen self-harming with a broken bottle, the IPCC said. He had a serious wound to his neck.

An IPCC spokesman said: ``Officers deployed a Taser and restrained the man in order to administer first aid.

``The man had sustained a serious wound to his neck and paramedics were called. He was taken to hospital by ambulance but was pronounced dead.

``Sussex Police informed the IPCC of the incident this morning and three investigators were immediately deployed to begin an assessment.

``The IPCC has since decided it will carry out an independent investigation. The IPCC will be speaking to any witnesses, taking initial accounts from police officers and reviewing any relevant CCTV footage.

``The man was aged 33. His family are being contacted. A post-mortem is being arranged. Police have confirmed the incident is not terrorist-related.''