Report of the Inquiry into the circumstances of the Death of Bernard ...

16.4 The evidence of Officer Clucas, Mr Routledge and Mr Brownley is consistent in
saying that Officer Brownley came out of the cubicle, propelled by force, only seconds
after Sonny Lodge entered it. That allowed little time for de-escalation or the suggestion
of going outside to smoke. Moreover it is not clear why Officer Brownley found it
necessary to move forward into the cubicle to give his instruction.
16.5 The inquiry has also received circumstantial evidence. The bruise on Sonny
Lodge’s neck might have occurred in the struggle that followed the incident or on
another occasion but it is consistent with Sonny’s account in a letter, as reported by
Governor Halliwell, and later by the chaplains. There is no record of any visible injury
consistent with Sonny’s claim in the letter that the officer hit him in the mouth but that
does not show the claim is false.
16.6 Mr Brownley’s previous disciplinary offence, resorting to direct action to enforce
the rules, concerns about his performance thereafter, and the rumours circulating in the
prison that very week raise uncomfortable questions about his conduct. In her evidence,
Governor Williams was clear that she had spoken to Mr Brownley about the rumour that
he would engineer an assault to go on sick leave. It is a long time since the incident
occurred, but it was surprising that Mr Brownley had no recollection of being informed
about the rumour or of his application to transfer to Manchester prison.
16.7 The inquiry has no authority to try Sonny Lodge or Officer Brownley on the
charge of assault. The inquiry draws conclusions on the balance of probabilities not the
criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. The inquiry has insufficient evidence to
speculate about the verdict that a court might have reached on the charge against
Sonny Lodge. On behalf of Mr Brownley, Counsel has argued persuasively that the more
serious the criticism, the greater the weight of evidence required to support it. I agree.
Findings about the incident
16.8 I find that:
At the time of the incident at Whiston Hospital, there was in existence a rumour
that Officer Brownley would engineer an assault by a prisoner and Governor
Williams spoke to Officer Brownley about it.
At the time of the incident at Whiston Hospital, Officer Brownley had a pending
appeal against refusal of an application for a transfer to Manchester prison.
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