The father of an ex-Wigan Warriors player who died on holiday has slammed Spanish police after a doctor present during his son’s death came forward with accusations of negligence.
Luke Rhoden, 25, was in Ibiza for a stag do in San Antonia when he plunged from a first floor balcony on September 2 at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel.
Spanish police say they had to pin him down for his own safety after he started acting violently towards other patients and refused medical treatment.
He survived the fall but died shortly after, possibly from a heart attack, as police tried to restrain him while putting him into an ambulance.
One of the first doctors on the scene, Santiago Akoskin, has criticised the police’s excessive use of force during the incident.
Speaking on Luke’s Facebook tribute page, which currently has more than 10,500 supporters, Norman Rhoden said: “The story has broken in the national media in Spain and the doctor has gone [on] record to say the guardia are at fault for Luke’s death.”
Luke’s dad also announced that Spanish police have retaliated against the doctor’s statement, arguing that it proves their complicity in his son’s ‘murder’.
He said: “The guardia are now trying to blame the doctor for malpractice!!! Don’t know about you but don’t think guardia look too tough now!!”
Speaking on Spanish local radio this week, Dr Akoskin said he had to ask a Civil Guard officer three times to remove his baton from Luke Rhoden’s neck before he withdrew it.
He said: “I have never seen anyone immobilised with a stick to the neck.”
While the exact cause of death is yet to be determined pending a coroner’s report, Dr Akoskin confirmed that Luke did not die from lack of oxygen.
“It was not asphyxiation that killed the tourist. The cause of his death, the coroner will find out,” Dr Akoskin said..
“A medical examiner will determine the cause but we cannot know what prompted that cause.”
The doctor, who works for hotels in the party capital, says police also put clamps around Luke’s legs after he started kicking officers.
It is hoped that Luke’s body can be repatriated to the UK by the end of the week, as investigations into the cause of his death continue.
Image courtesy of Facebook, with thanks.
