A police witness with expertise in officer safety training said that proper protocols were followed by police during the physical handling of a St George’s woman who died in 2024.

Brian McNab, of the tactical training unit for the Bermuda Police Service, gave evidence in the inquest for 61-year-old Jennifer Steede, who was known to be suffering from bipolar affective disorder and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Police responded after Ms Steede suffered a mental health emergency at her home on May 16, 2024. She was later pronounced dead at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Mr McNab, the final witness in the inquest, described different tactics police are trained to deploy while carrying out their duties, and described his assessment of the officers’ handling of Ms Steede, going by what he witnessed in a series of CCTV videos of the incident.

He said that at one point Ms Steede needed to be lifted from the ground and was noncompliant during that part of the process, with her legs stretched out in front of her, making it difficult for them to lift her.

He said this gave officers no option but to lift her or wait for medical assistance. He said that if an individual needs to be lifted, officers must support the person’s body weight, usually under their arm. However, he said, they chose to pull Ms Steede up and forward by her wrists while supporting her elbow.

Mr McNab, who has close to 30 years of policing experience, said that Ms Steede was then put in a “front handcuffing position”, which he said was the most comfortable for any subject.

He said that while he was not a doctor, in his expert opinion he believed that the handcuffing position deployed would not have added any additional pressure beyond that already on Ms Steede’s respiratory system.

He added that pulling Ms Steede up by her wrists and elbow would not have compressed her chest or breathing.

He said that once she was lifted onto a chair, she was assisted to her feet and escorted away in the correct manner — supported under her arms by two officers.

Mr McNab said the nature of policing was diverse and there would always be occasions where standard tactics may not be effective. He said that in those circumstances officers may have to resort to other methods to restrain individuals to prevent injury to themselves or others.

However, he added that administering duty of care was always paramount.

Mr McNab said that “absolute perfection” in the deployment of tactics was unlikely under the circumstances described.

“In general, if an officer deploys a tactic not included in their training, I do not believe that their actions are necessarily wrong or unlawful,” he said.

He confirmed that all officers involved in the response were certified.

Joshua Smith, Ms Steede’s son, asked Mr McNab whether police training specifically included the handling of individuals with breathing problems.

Mr McNab said: “There are no specific procedures for officers dealing with individuals with respiratory problems. It is likely that an officer wouldn’t even know that an individual has respiratory problems unless it were obvious.

“Where there are obvious breathing problems, officers are taught to treat that as a medical emergency and call an ambulance.”

The inquest previously heard that Christopher Milroy, a pathologist, found that Ms Steede died as a result of hypertensive heart disease, a condition caused by high blood pressure.

He told the inquest that police involvement did not meaningfully contribute to Ms Steede’s death.

The inquest heard that Ms Steede had complained of difficulty breathing before being placed in a police car.

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