Police kept insulin from arrested man

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THE devastated family of a wealthy Nelson Mandela Bay businessman, who died in police custody this week after making a silly joke about a bomb at the Port Elizabeth Airport, have accused police of withholding life-saving insulin and food from the diabetic man.

Members of Geoffrey Reed‘s family claim police were told he was a diabetic and that it was a case of “life and death” that he be given the insulin injections left for him at the police station by his wife.

However, three hours after Reed‘s wife dropped off food and the insulin at the Mount Road police station, he was found dead in the holding cells.

The 52-year-old father of five, who owned security companies in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town, was arrested at the Port Elizabeth Airport on Wednesday morning following his joking reference to having “a bomb” in his pants.

Security officials at the airport face an ongoing problem with irresponsible practical jokers claiming to be in possession of a bomb or firearms.

They have, however, clamped down firmly, with 13 people having been arrested in this regard this year already. This follows a trend at security-conscious airports throughout the world where a policy of zero tolerance has been adopted to those who make false claims about being in possession of bombs and firearms.

However, Reed‘s family claim he told them telephonically after his arrest that he had said he had a “bum” – not a bomb – in his pants that it had all been a terrible misunderstanding.

His son Donovan, who flew to Port Elizabeth from Johannesburg on Thursday morning after hearing of his father‘s death, said the incident had caused the family great distress. “The rest of the family are all coming down to spend time here,” he said from Reed‘s Bluewater Bay home.

“My dad was arrested after he jokingly commented he had a bum in his pants.”

Donovan said his father had phoned him after he had been arrested and told him that security officials had taken his comment as the joke it was intended to be. However, another commuter who had overheard the remark reported him to the airport authorities, who arrested him.

“He then told police at the airport that he needed a Coke and that he was a diabetic,” Donovan said.

“I later spoke to the policeman at the airport and he told me he had bought the Coke for him,” he said. “They knew he was a diabetic and this still happened.”

Reed was taken to the Mount Road police station where his wife, Carol, went to visit him at 6.15pm with Nando‘s food and his insulin injections.

“She was told she could not give it to him and that he was fast asleep.”

Carol then gave the food and insulin to the police at the front and stressed it was a matter of “life and death” that he got the items.

“I told him (the policeman) he must first give the food and then the insulin injections,” Carol said.

But she said this never happened. “The police brought the food, his clean shirt and his bag back to the house that evening,” said Carol. “The food was not even touched and the insulin injection pens that were with him were not used.”

Police spokesman Hazel Mqala said police had discovered Reed was dead at 9pm when they did their hourly check on the prisoners that night. The alarm had not been raised by a fellow prisoner in the holding cell because he had thought Reed was merely asleep.

“We asked (the other man in the cell) what had happened, but the prisoner said he thought the man was sleeping as he had heard him snoring,” Mqala said.

Donovan said his father had been a well-known and well-liked figure in Port Elizabeth and had even kitted out his BMW as an ambulance in order to help the community.

“He use to respond to accidents all over Port Elizabeth and has helped and saved plenty of people,” he said. “He loved it and didn‘t get paid for his time or petrol.”

Diabetic nurse educator Sister Honey Williams said it was possible for someone to go into a coma as a result of blood sugar levels being too high or low.

“It looks like the person is asleep but you can‘t wake them up and the only way to determine if the person is in a coma is if you prick the finger to determine the blood sugar level,” Williams said.

“The average person would not know whether the person was in a coma.”

Reed‘s family said the Independent Complaints Directorate had requested that an autopsy, which has to be done to establish the exact cause of death, only be done on Monday.

“They said they were sending people from Johannesburg to attend the autopsy,” Donovan said.