Reeves v Metropolitan Police Commissioner 1 AC 360 is an English tort law case, concerning breach of duty.D Nolan and K Oliphant, Lunney & Oliphant's Tort Law: Text and Materials (7th edn 2023) ch 6, 326
Facts A prisoner killed himself while on suicide watch.
Judgment The House of Lords held that the police have a duty to prevent the death of prisoners under their care, including deaths by suicide. Lord Hoffmann said: ‘Once it is admitted that this is the rare case in which such a duty is owed, it seems to me self-contradictory to say that the breach could not have been a cause of the harm because the victim caused it to himself.’
Lord Hobhouse dissented saying the voluntary act of suicide is an exception. He pointed to the example of a political prisoner who does it to make a statement.
See also
English tort law
References