The family of Darren Salituri shared their story with the Guernsey Press last week, including how they were told by a police officer that their relative had been found hanging in his cell, which turned out not to be true.
That, alongside his mother being informed of her son’s death via a telephone call while she was alone, was among the reasons the family felt they needed to speak out.
The family’s story was published on Saturday, and generated shock among readers and the wider community about how the family were treated.
Today, police chief Damian Kitchen released a public statement, apologising for the communication with Mr Salituri’s family.
‘In hindsight, it is clear that our first communication with the family didn’t give them the level of support they deserved, the most accurate information at the time, nor meet our own high standards, and for that, we have apologised to them and are committed to doing better,’ he said.
‘I am truly sorry that we didn’t provide the best initial service and will ensure that either I or a member of the senior team at Guernsey Police affords the family an opportunity for a personal meeting to reiterate this apology.
‘Immediate actions were taken to address their concerns, and this has been discussed with them.’
The Criminal Investigation Department has been liaising with the family, which included a meeting with the police’s professional standards team on Friday, after the family raised concerns about the initial communication from police in the immediate wake of the incident.
‘This is a tragic incident, and the family deserve privacy and support at this very difficult time,’ said Mr Kitchen.
‘I must remind everybody this is an ongoing, live investigation, which the police are approaching thoroughly and with an open mind, to gather all the information required for His Majesty’s Procureur.’
In his statement, Mr Kitchen also reminded islanders of the impact that social media commentary can have on the family and everyone else affected.
He urged caution over viewing or generating AI material, including the creation of images related to Mr Salituri which have been posted on social media.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.