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Second man dies in Vic police custody

Victoria Police will investigate the way they arrest and detain people after a second man died in police custody in 24 hours.

A 46-year-old married father was arrested for being drunk in Echuca, in Victoria's north, on Tuesday night and placed in the police cells just after 8pm (AEDT).

He was found dead only 10-15 minutes later hanging from his shirt, having apparently committed suicide.

The death follows a 29-year-old Melbourne man dying on Monday night in the back of a police van after he was sprayed with capsicum foam following a fight with police.

Assistant commissioner Tim Cartwright said the police force always reviewed its processes when there was a death in custody.

"The Homicide Squad are investigating (the death), and we will run a separate inquiry to look at whether our policies and procedures are right and look at that again as we always do," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"Whenever we take people into custody, we would hope that they are safe but it didn't happen here.

"It is a tragic occurrence and we deeply regret this."

Police refused to release the name of the man and Mr Cartwright said on the "advice I've got" the police officers involved did nothing wrong.

The Doncaster man was travelling to Canberra with his 19-year-old daughter to see his father for Christmas.

It is unclear what happened next but police say the man became separated from his daughter and wound up heavily drunk and walking his dog in Echuca.

An off-duty police officer saw him stumbling and organised for him to be arrested "out of concerns for his safety".

His wife was contacted, said she would pick him up and told police he was not currently working because of an undisclosed illness.

When his family arrived, ambulance officers were at the police station and he had been pronounced dead.

"We had some concerns about the nature of why he was off work, we rang his doctors but there was no indication he was suicidal and there was nothing to tell us this was likely to occur," Mr Cartwright said.

"In fact the members went so far as to let him take his dog into the cells to give him some comfort."

The police force have come under fire after the two deaths.

The Federation of Community Legal Centres' Hugh de Kretser criticised police over capsicum spray and its role in escalating conflicts, while questions were raised about why people can hang themselves in cells and whether the deaths should be independently investigated.

The police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity (OPI), is not involved in the investigations, which will be run by the Homicide Squad and overseen by the Ethical Standards Department.

However, OPI director Michael Strong said the coroner would preside over the investigation of the deaths and it was an independent judicial officer.

"OPI stands ready to assist the coroner by overseeing and reviewing the investigations," he said in a statement.

The OPI will also release a discussion paper on deaths in police custody in the new year, he said.

Late on Wednesday, the dead man's wife, known only as Lisa, made a brief statement, naming him as Stephen.

"Last night, my family were devastated by the loss of our dear Stephen. Stephen was a wonderful father, hu*****and and friend who will be missed," she said in the statement, issued on her behalf by Victoria Police.

"Stephen had dedicated his life to helping others in both his personal and professional life.

"My family requests that our privacy be respected at this time of our loss and do not wish to comment further at this stage."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=987002

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