Three police officers charged with perverting course of justice over 2011 death of man in custody

Three serving police officers have been charged with perverting the course of justice and perjury in connection with the death of a man while under restraint.

The Crown Prosecution Service announced that following a referral from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) it had decided there was "sufficient evidence to charge" after the death of Kingsley Burrell in 2011.

Those charges relate to evidence the three policemen gave at an inquest into death of Burrell held in May 2015 that concluded "gross failures" had contributed to his death.

The three men, who are all serving officers with West Midlands Police, have been suspended, the force confirmed.

In a statement, a CPS spokesman said: "Following a referral by the IPCC we have decided there is sufficient evidence to charge three officers from West Midlands Police with perverting the course of justice and perjury in connection with the death of Kingsley Burrell in 2011.

"The officers and the family of Mr Burrell have been informed. Criminal proceedings involving the three police constables will now be commenced and each has a right to a fair trial."

Burrell, a father of three, died after being detained under the Mental Health Act. At the inquest hearing, the coroner said "no tragedy like this should ever happen again".

A file was originally handed to the CPS by IPCC investigators back in October last year, following a complaint from Burrell's family about the evidence given at that inquest by the three officers.

His relatives have protested for months at what they claimed was a delay in a decision on whether or not to charge, recently staging a sit-in at the CPS Birmingham office to highlight the issue.

The officers – who were named by the force as 36-year-old Paul Adey, 45-year-old Mark Fannon and Paul Greenfield, 50 – are all due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on 31 October.

West Midlands Police said that the charges had been authorised by the director of public prosecutions.

An initial CPS investigation in 2014 concluded there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against anyone involved.

In a statement following the announcement, a spokesman for the family said: "The Burrell family welcome today's decision to prosecute the three officers concerned, in the belief that they must be publicly held to account for their actions in the circumstances surrounding the death of Kingsley.

"This has been a long time coming and the fight for justice for Kingsley continues. At this stage we have no further comment."