Inquest in to the death of PS Matt Ratana

15/11/2023

Dominic Adamson KC acted on behalf of Su Bushby in the inquest into the death of her partner, Sergeant Matt Ratana, who was murdered by Louis De Soysa in a holding cell at Croydon Custody Centre following his arrest in the early hours of 25 September 2020.  De Zoysa was handcuffed and searched on his arrest.  Drugs and bullets were found during the search.  De Zoysa was also wearing a holster and carrying a gun which were not discovered.  The inquest focussed on this issue.  De Zoysa was convicted of murder in June 2023. 

A summary of the Senior Coroner’s findings at the inquest is as follows:-

• There was a failure on part of the arresting officer to carry out a ‘safe, thorough and systematic’ search. 
• The cover officer, working with the arresting officer, failed to take steps to ensure than ‘an effective search’ was carried out.  
• There was a missed opportunity by the arresting officer to observe and challenge De Zoysa as he was wriggling in the custody van whilst being transported to the custody centre.  He was probably manoeuvring to gain access to the gun whilst handcuffed to the rear. 
• When De Zoysa arrived at the custody centre was a failure to notice that one his hands was concealed.  He was probably holding the gun.

The Senior Coroner reached a conclusion of unlawful killing.

The case received significant press coverage, including: https://news.sky.com/story/police-sergeant-matt-ratana-who-was-shot-to-death-unlawfully-killed-after-failed-search-by-colleagues-rules-coroner-13007437