CCTV and bodycam footage which recorded the moment a man was restrained in a York shop before his death will be shown at his inquest.
Sam Diatta, who was 39, died after being restrained in the Mappin & Webb jewellers, then trading on Coney Street, on 26 July 2022.
The inquest into Mr Diatta’s death was opened and adjourned in January 2023.
That hearing was told how Mr Diatta, from Suffolk House, Lowther Street, The Groves, became unresponsive in the shop.
He was taken to York Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The provisional cause of death was hypertensive heart disease and the effects of being restrained.
At a pre-inquest review hearing in Northallerton today (Thursday), North Yorkshire senior coroner Jon Heath said he was minded to allow video footage of what happened in Mappin & Webb during the full inquest.
He told the court: “I think it would be very difficult to undertake this hearing without the showing of this CCTV footage.
“I’m acutely aware of the stress this can cause, both for the witnesses and particularly the family.”
Mr Diatta’s parents George and Judy attended the hearing via video link. Their solicitor Iftikhar Manzoor agreed that the CCTV and bodycam footage was important evidence.
Family members could be given prior warning before it was shown so they could leave the court if they wished to.
“From the family’s perspective that evidence should be shown,” M r Manzoor said.
Mr Heath ruled that the video would be shown in court, but done “as sensitively as possible”.
After Mr Diatta’s death, North Yorkshire Police arrested four people. Nearly a year after the incident, police said that no one would be charged with any offence.
The inquest is scheduled to run for two weeks from 6 July. The first week will be at Harrogate Convention Centre to accommodate all the witnesses and legal teams. It will conclude at Northallerton Coroners Court.
