New details have emerged about the death of Lain Estridge, who died following an incident on Back Falkner Street South in Liverpool's Georgian Quarter. According to a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the 23-year-old "slid along the road" before colliding with a stationary police van.
The incident occurred at around 3.15pm on February 13. Officers had approached and tried to engage with Mr Estridge, who was on an e-bike. The report states: "Officers approached and tried to engage with the man on the e-bike during which the man fell from the bike, slid along the road, and made contact with the stationary police van."
Details from the IOPC report
The report continues: "The man got to his feet. Officers took him to the floor, restrained him, and applied handcuffs. Officers sat the man up and attempted to get him to his feet. The man became unresponsive. Officers laid him on the floor, removed the handcuffs, and gave him CPR."
An ambulance was called, and when paramedics attended, they removed a package from the man's throat. Mr Estridge was taken to hospital, where he died shortly after arrival. His cause of death is awaited.
National statistics and context
Mr Estridge's case is anonymously listed in the IOPC report, which was published last week. The report covers deaths related to police contact between April 2025 and March 2026. According to the national figures, there were 15 road traffic fatalities, four fatal police shootings, 27 deaths in or following police custody, 67 apparent suicides following police custody, and 63 other deaths following police contact.
The report says "other deaths following police contact" are those that follow contact with the police, either directly or indirectly, that did not involve arrest or detention under the Mental Health Act and were subject to an independent investigation. Mr Estridge's death is categorised as such, listed under "avoiding police contact or arrest."
The report also shows that Merseyside Police had five "other deaths" following contact—the joint highest in the country—along with three deaths in or following custody and one apparent suicide following custody. There were no road traffic incident deaths or fatal shootings involving a Merseyside officer.
Reactions and ongoing work
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "We acknowledge the publication of this annual IOPC report and will continue to cooperate fully with all their ongoing work."
IOPC Director General Rachel Watson said: "These numbers are not merely statistics. While deaths during or following police contact remain rare, we must not lose sight of the devastating human impact of every single one."
She added: "Investigations play a vital role in protecting people's human rights and ensuring the public can have confidence in policing. Our work delivers accountability, helps establish the circumstances of each death and delivers real change to improve policing for the benefit of both the public and frontline officers."
Ms Watson also said: "These cases have had a devastating impact on those affected and we understand some of these figures may be concerning, but it is important to remember that these tragic cases account for a tiny proportion of the hundreds of thousands of people detained by police each year."
She concluded: "Through our learning and research we continue to work with police to reduce these deaths where possible. In the last year alone, we have seen new guidance for all forces as part of ongoing work to ensure those at risk of self-harm following police custody get the support they need, and our recommendations are leading to improved training for custody staff and changes to working practices that support officers to provide the best level of care they can."
