A CUSTODY sergeant has been cleared of the manslaughter of a man who died in police detention.
David McGowan, from Belfast, died just hours after arriving at Lisburn police station in May 2014.
PSNI sergeant Brian McKenna, who was the custody officer on the night the 28-year-old died, denied charges of manslaughter and misconduct in public office.
At Belfast Crown Court today, a prosecution barrister told Judge David McFarland he was offering no further evidence in the four-week trial.
As a consequence the jury of seven men and five women were directed to return verdicts of 'not guilty'.
The charges arose following a Police Ombudsman probe into Mr McGowan's detention.
He was arrested along with his girlfriend Kirsty Pinkerton outside an east Belfast flat on the evening of May 29, 2014.
Mr McGowan had told a civilian detention officer he had taken "between 30 and 40 tablets", and he also "had a lot of white stuff in his mouth".
He was later examined by a doctor, who said he should be observed and roused every 30 minutes.
Concerns were later raised about his breathing. It was noticed Mr McGowan had been sick and the doctor was called again.
An ambulance was called and although CPR was administered, Mr McGowan was declared dead at 1.47am.
A post-mortem found he died from an "upper airway obstruction due to inhalation of gastric contents, due to toxic effects of alcohol and drugs".
While Sergeant McKenna has been cleared, the civilian detention officer who was on duty with him, Mr Alexander McAllister, awaits sentence on the charge of misconduct in public office.
A manslaughter charge against the guard, who gave evidence during the trial, was allowed to 'remain on the books' by an earlier court following a guilty plea to misconduct.
His case will be mentioned on Friday when a possible date for sentencing will be fixed.
