AN inquest jury has concluded that it was “inappropriate” for police officers to take a naked and crazed man into custody – where he suffered a fatal heart attack – instead of hospital. Kirk Williams, 26, from Stockton, should have been taken straight to hospital after he was found behaving bizarrely in a field, the jury at Teesside Coroners’ Court agreed. Mr Williams’ family said they were “devastated” and “shocked” at some of the police officer’s actions which included hitting him in an effort to restrain him. However the jury also said there wasn’t enough evidence to say that if Mr Williams had been taken to hospital immediately he would certainly have survived. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating, but findings have not yet been made public. The inquest heard that Mr Williams had been taking drugs including cocaine, which led to him falling into a state of ‘excited delirium’. The inquest heard ‘excited delirium’ affects the brain and body and directly led to his death. He was taken to Middlesbrough police station, where he suffered a cardiac arrest. The father-of-two, who had recently broken up with his long-term partner and had argued with her during the night, did not sleep for three days before he took the cocktail of drugs. He was spotted at 11am taking off his clothes on Sunday, April 17, 2011, in a field behind the Moorhouse Estate in Eaglescliffe and police were called. Mr Williams, of Beechwood Road, Eaglescliffe, was agitated and scratching himself, pulling at his testicles. One witness said he was waving his arms around “as if trying to get a demon off him.” Witness accounts vary about the force six police offers used against Mr Williams. Some witnesses said that one policeman, PC Neil Chisholm, struck him several times and used a police baton. However PC Chisholm refuted that and said he only hit Mr Williams once. Doctors agreed the police action restraining Mr Williams’ did not contribute to his death. However doctors did tell the inquest that the issue of when Mr Williams went to hospital was more serious and he would have had a better chance of survival being treated by medics. Police officers said he was too violent to take to hospital but doctors said they would treat anyone in an real medical emergency. The inquest heard that one policeman, PC Christopher Taylor, had recognised Mr Williams’ condition as excited delirium, noting he "was hot as a lightbulb" and had strongly argued he be taken to hospital but was overruled. Instead Mr Williams was taken to Middlesbrough Police Station at 12.04pm and 45 minutes later had a heart attack. He was taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough but was declared dead at 2.32pm. The Williams’ family solicitor, Scott Taylor, said police had “denied Kirk an opportunity to get immediate assistance.” Teesside assistant coroner, Sam Faulks, who directed jurors to record a narrative verdict, said he had no criticism of the police but said there was a “mismatch” between the types of patients police officers believe will be treated at hospital and who hospital staff say they actually will treat. Mr Faulks said there is no clear guideline, more dialogue is needed and he would be making recommendations to that effect. Cleveland Police’s head of professional standards, Superintendent Jon Green, said: “We are reassured that the coroner was satisfied that nothing our officers did when dealing with Mr Williams had contributed to his death. "We will assess any recommendations in more detail.”