Police thought dying woman faked collapse - inquest

Police officers thought a dying woman was faking a collapse after she was arrested and handcuffed at home, an inquest has heard.

Tracie Cooper, 50, slumped to the floor shortly after officers forced entry to her home in Landguard Road, Southampton, on 18 April 2020.

Paramedics, who arrived nine minutes later, began CPR, but she died in hospital from the effects of bleeding on the brain, the inquest jury in Winchester heard.

In body-worn video played in court, PC Chris Savage said the collapse did not look "particularly convincing".

Earlier, the officer shouted several warnings before breaking in with four colleagues to find Ms Cooper hiding behind a door, the video showed.

She and her partner Nigel Cross were arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm at a supermarket two days earlier, the inquest heard.

The pair were handcuffed and separated before Ms Cooper collapsed at about 21:30 BST, the jury was told.

In the video, PC Savage could be heard asking a colleague to call for an ambulance, adding: "It doesn't look particularly convincing. I think she'll be fine."

He later added: "Is she holding her breath? At the moment I'm happy with her breathing."

However, another officer spoke on a radio, saying: "Her breathing isn't normal. She's just gasping. She's had some sort of seizure."

The gasping was agonal breathing, a form of respiratory arrest, the inquest was told.

Hampshire coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp asked the officer why he did not start chest compressions when an ambulance controller suggested it.

PC Savage replied: "Because she was breathing, even though very shallow... Her heart was still beating."

Another officer, PC Josephine Ayling, said she also initially thought the collapse was fake, which she said was "not unusual" for suspects.

Ms Cooper's death in hospital two days later was due to a brain haemorrhage caused by a blood vessel defect, the inquest previously heard.

Pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said: "Tracie's death was clearly the result of natural disease [and] precipitated by a sudden rise in blood pressure.

"The stress of arrest, an argument with the police, might well have precipitated a bursting of Tracie's aneurysm."

An internal Hampshire police report on the incident found "minor learning matters" but no disciplinary issues, the inquest heard.

It recommended reviews of first aid training and the procedure for calling an ambulance, the jury was told.

The hearing, which is expected to last several days, continues.

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