THE police watchdog has launched an investigation into the death of a black man in custody hours after he was arrested. 

Simeon Francis, 35, died in a cell at Torquay police station on May 20, having been arrested in Exeter just before 1am, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said. 

An ambulance was called after he was found “unresponsive in his cell,” but Mr Francis was pronounced dead at about 6pm.

Regional IOPC director Catrin Evans said: “We are analysing a considerable amount of CCTV footage from the custody suite.

“We are looking at the level of care provided during the period of detention, including the frequency and adequacy of checks carried out.”

The death follows a week of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, with demonstrators demanding justice for the deaths of black men and women in police custody. 

According to charity Inquest, there have been 1,741 deaths in police custody, or following contact with officers, in England and Wales since 1990.

Black and ethnic-minority (BAME) people make up 14 per cent of these deaths, proportionate to the population, according to the 2011 census. But Inquest’s report found that more BAME people died in custody after being subjected to restraints than white people. 

Manchester-based group the Northern Police Monitoring Project said today that Mr Francis’s death, on the back of recent protests, is “yet another painful reminder of the importance of anti-racist movements in the UK.”

There is no evidence that force was used against Mr Francis by police but further tests are being carried out on his body to determine the cause of death, the IOPC said.