Wrongful Arrest Robbed Me Of Chance To Grieve For 3-Year-Old Son, Says Mum

A grieving mother has told of her agony when she was wrongly arrested on suspicion of murder after her three-year-old son died of a chest infection.
















Alfie died of a chest infection aged three.
















Abby Podmore says she was robbed of the chance to say goodbye.

Abby Podmore described how her ‘horrifying’ ordeal had robbed her of the chance to grieve for Alfie, who passed away in his sleep.

An investigation has now been launched by the Independent Police Complaints Committee.

The 20-year-old dental nurse has also received an apology from the hospital which mistakenly sent Alfie home after failing to spot the serious lung infection that killed him.

Ms Podmore told an inquest: ‘I couldn’t believe what was happening – my son had just died and I was being treated like a criminal. Looking back, I feel like I was robbed of a chance to say goodbye to Alfie.

‘I wanted to be with his body, just wanted to be with him.’

The boy was taken ill at nursery on February 2 and seen at Birmingham Children’s Hospital the following day but was discharged after medics said he was only suffering from a gastric virus.

They prescribed antacid medication rather than antibiotics that might have saved him from an ‘aggressive’ bacterial infection of pneumonia.

Alfie died at home on February 6 despite his mother’s attempts to revive him.

But when an ambulance arrived, it was joined by 15 police officers in two riot vans to detain Ms Podmore and her partner.

At Birmingham coroners’ court, Judge Aidan Cotter condemned police for the way in which they showed ‘no compassion’ and that, in her shoes, he ‘probably would have gone round and thumped a police officer’.

Det Insp Moira Blackburn said police arrested Ms Podmore after a neighbour falsely claimed the mother and her partner had been heard arguing.

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Cotter said Alfie died as a result of failings by the hospital – and that doctors had made a clinical misjudgment.

Hospital bosses accepted liability and apologised to Ms Podmore, insisting lessons had been learnt.

Hillsborough Files: Dalglish Welcomes Government Stance

Kenny Dalglish has welcomed the news that the government has urged the Hillsborough panel to release documents relating to the disaster to the public.









The recommendation comes after more than 100,000 people signed an e-petition calling for them to be publicly released.

The Cabinet Office had previously said any release of information should be managed by the panel.

Liverpool manager Dalglish said: "It is fantastic news for the families."

Dalglish was managing Liverpool for the first time when 96 fans were killed in April 1989 during a semi-final cup tie against Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's ground.

He said: "I think this isn't a political issue - it is a humanitarian one, so at least common sense has prevailed."

When the e-petition reached 100,000 signatures, the House of Commons had to consider the issue for a parliamentary debate.

On Wednesday night, the Cabinet Office confirmed it was "happy for all the papers to be released as soon as the panel so decides, in consultation with the families".

It added: "We expect them to be shared with the Hillsborough families first and then to the wider public."









Ninety-six Liverpool fans were killed in the disaster.

Prior to that, the government had failed to publicly back calls that the documents should be released to the public.

The BBC put in a Freedom of Information request for the documents in 2009.

The Information Commissioner Christopher Graham ruled the files should be released, ahead of the usual 30-year rule. The Cabinet Office said it would appeal against the decision.

A spokesman said it would continue to appeal against the ruling as it wanted the files to be released in an ordered way to the victims' families first before the media.

Dalglish also praised Labour MP Andy Burnham, former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for pushing the issue forward after the 20th anniversary of the disaster.

"He has stuck to his word and delivered it as best he possibly could," Dalglish said.

He added: "Everything is looking positive for the families and everybody, irrespective of what team they support, has made a massive contribution towards the success they are having at the moment.

"Long may it continue because it was Liverpool, but it could have been any football club and I think people respect that."

Man Dies After Taser Arrest Near Bolton

IPCC to investigate police use of Taser to subdue man, 53 – the third fatal arrest using stun gun or pepper spray in a week.












A police officer holds a Taser gun. Three men have died in just over a week after being subdued with the stun gun or pepper spray.

A man who stabbed himself in the abdomen has died after being Tasered by police officers.

Philip Hulmes, 53, was hit with electric probes from the stun gun after barricading himself in his home in Over Hulton, near Bolton, on Tuesday night.

It is thought a concerned relative called police to the house at 8.30pm. Police were told that Hulmes, who was armed with a knife, had locked himself in, was making threats and had begun to stab himself.

Officers arrived and smashed a hole in the door. When they spotted his injuries they called for Taser-trained back up.

After further failed attempts to talk him out of the building they broke in and used the stun gun.

He was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital but he died about half an hour later.

Investigations by the Professional Standards Branch and the Independent Police Complaints Commission are due to begin.

Greater Manchester police said the officers had been threatened. They entered the house and deployed a Taser.

"After it was deployed, it became apparent he had a serious self-inflicted stab wound to his abdomen," police said in a statement.

"A Home Office postmortem examination is due to be carried out later today."

The GMP's Professional Standards Branch will oversee the investigation and will be making a mandatory referral to the IPCC.

The commission is also investigating another death when up to 11 officers arrested a man after restraining him with pepper spray. The man became unwell and died in hospital within two hours.

Jacob Michael, 25, from Widnes, Cheshire, died after he became ill on Monday evening. He managed to flee police but was brought down on a grass verge close to his home and restrained.

Some witnesses expressed concerns about the arrest.

The IPCC said pepper spray had been used and its investigators would carry out inquiries.

Cheshire police's assistant chief constable expressed his condolences to the man's family and friends.

"I believe it is important for the community to know that the detailed postmortem examination … found no physical injuries on Jacob that could be attributable to a cause of death," ACC Philip Thompson said.

"Whilst pepper spray was discharged during the course of his arrest, there is no evidence that the use of pepper spray was the sole factor or indeed a contributory factor to Mr Michael becoming unwell some time after his arrest or as a cause of his death."

He appealed for calm and said further extensive tests would help establish an exact cause of death.

Last week, 27-year-old bodybuilder Dale Burns died in Cumbria after he was Tasered and sprayed with pepper spray by police during an arrest. A postmortem was unable to establish a cause of death.

The IPCC is investigating Cumbria police.