THE Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is appealing for witnesses as part of its investigation into the death of a man in police custody last weekend.

Andre Moura, 30, died after Greater Manchester Police (GMP) responded to reports of a domestic incident at an address near Oldham on Friday night.

Officers restrained Mr Moura using CS spray while arresting him outside his address, before taking him to Ashton-under-Lyne police station, where he was found to be “unresponsive.”

He was taken by ambulance to Tameside hospital, but he was confirmed to have died at around 1.30am on Saturday.

The IOPC said a post-mortem was “inconclusive,” adding that “further tests, including a toxicology report, will be carried out to help determine the cause of Mr Moura’s death.”

His death triggered a mandatory referral by GMP, after which IOPC investigators attended the scene and the police station and conducted house-to-house enquiries.

The watchdog said it had recovered CCTV footage, police officer body-worn video camera footage and a mobile phone recording of the incident from an independent witness, but it asked others to come forward.

IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe said: “Our team has been in contact with Mr Moura’s partner to explain our role, offer advice and support and to outline the next steps of our independent investigation. We will also be in contact with Mr Moura’s family in Portugal.

She added: “I would urge anyone who may have further information, or footage of the incident, to come forward and talk to us.”