A verdict of “unlawful killing” has been made available to jurors when assessing how a man came to die in police custody nearly seven years ago.

As the fourth week of the inquest into the death of Habib Ullah, known to his friends and family as “Paps”, draws to a close, jurors heard summing up from coroner Richard Hulett today.

Throughout February, Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court, in Beaconsfield, has heard evidence, witness statements and expert advice surrounding the death of Mr Ullah on July 3, 2008.

The 39-year-old was restrained by five Thames Valley Police officers during a stop and search in Lee court, Sharrow Vale, in High Wycombe.

During the restraint, a package of Class A drugs became lodged in his throat and he suffered a cardiac arrest, dying shortly after.

Now, the 11 jurors must come to a conclusion as to the events leading up to and contributing to Mr Ullah’s death.

With many options available to the jury, an outcome of “unlawful killing” has been left on the table.

When assessing whether an act is “unlawful” and resulted in the death of Mr Ullah, jurors must take into account three elements.

These are:

1) A deliberate act which is unlawful (eg an assault)
2) The act is a dangerous act in that it is, from an objective standpoint, one which a sober, reasonable and responsible person of the perpetrator’s age and gender, would inevitably realise is an act which is likely to cause the deceased some physical harm, albeit not serious harm, and
3) The unlawful, dangerous act causes death (even though death or harm of any kind is not intended).

Jurors heard Mr Hulett's summary today and are due to be released tomorrow to reach a conclusion.

Other options that are available to the jury include misadventure and narrative verdicts.

The inquest continues.