THE family of a man who died in police custody have called for the officers present when he died to face criminal charges.

Epileptic Duncan Tomlin was thought to be having a seizure when he was restrained by Sussex Police officers in July 2014.

The 32-year-old stopped breathing in a police van in Haywards Heath and later died in hospital.

Following a lengthy investigation by the police watchdog, prosecutors decided not to charge any of the officers involved.

However Duncan’s family have now asked for the Crown Prosecution Service to reconsider.

The IPCC’s investigation called for prosecutors to consider criminal charges as well as concluding that there was a case to answer for gross misconduct against the five officers involved. The police sergeant and four constables have continued to be on active duty and full pay since his death.

Duncan is believed to have been Tasered and pepper sprayed before being put in a police van where he fell unconscious.

Duncan’s father Paul Tomlin has been seeking answers over his son’s death for more than three years.

Mr Tomlin told The Argus he was “devastated” when the CPS decided not to prosecute.

At the time he said: “We are still waiting for answers as to what happened to him and how he came to die in police custody.

A hearing at West Sussex Coroner’s Court this week was told the family will be waiting long past the fourth anniversary of Duncan’s death to know the full facts of what happened.

A further inquest hearing was scheduled for March next year, and no date has been set for the full inquest.

A spokesman for the IPCC said: “The Tomlin family exercised their Victims Right to Review (VRR) and we are still awaiting a CPS decision on the outcome of this process.”

If no criminal charges are brought then the IPCC could demand disciplinary action against the officers.

Under the Victims’ Code, which came into effect in December 2013, anyone who has suffered physical or emotional harm or economic loss as a result of a crime has the right to appeal a decision by the CPS not to prosecute or to discontinue a case.

Typically reviews can take up to six months, but if the South East CPS insists their decision was correct then it can be escalated to an independent review.

The IPCC investigation found five officers were called to a disturbance in Ryecroft, Haywards Heath. Two officers restrained him, and placed him in a police van with three officers where he became unresponsive.

Duncan was removed from the van on South Road in Haywards Heath just after midnight on July 27, 2014. He was not breathing, CPR was performed, and he was subsequently transferred by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he died on July 29.