'Great dad' Kaine 'lost his battle with the demons in his head,' says grieving mum

26-YEAR-OLD WITH MENTAL HEALTH WOES DIED HOURS AFTER POLICE RESTRAINT

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

A DAD who died hours after being restrained by police, struggled with his mental health for a long time, an inquest heard.

Kaine Regan Fletcher was 26 when he died at the Queen's Medical Centre on July 3, 2022.

An inquest finally began on Monday at Nottingham Coroners' Court. The hearing, before Coroner Alexandra Pountney, was told police were called on the afternoon of July 2, in response to concerns about Mr Fletcher.

Emergency services attended but concluded that the father of two did not need hospitalisation.

But by the early hours of July 3, his family again called police to say Mr Fletcher was under the influence of drugs and was experiencing a mental health disturbance.

The inquest was told that, once outside the house, Mr Fletcher became distressed and agitated and had to be restrained “to prevent him from harming himself”.

Once at the QMC, the Aspley man continued to be distressed and police officers had to stay with him.

He deteriorated to the point he went into cardiac arrest and, despite resuscitation attempts, he died around midday on July 3.

Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Michael Biggs told the hearing that Mr Fletcher had a total of 24 recent injuries identified during the post-mortem examination.

These were on his head, torso and limbs, with marks also on his wrists and lower forearms. A number of substances were found in his body, including cocaine and a mixture of medications.