A Police sergeant yesterday provided the first glimpse of what happened to a volatile Michael Burgess while he was in Police custody.

Sgt. Clive Brown's testimony came on the fifth day of the inquest into Mr.

Burgess' sudden death during the early hours of May 27, 1996.

A six-man, two-woman jury heard that Mr. Burgess, of Rosemont Avenue, Pembroke, was taken to the Hamilton Police Station by officers after being detained following a violent episode on a City street.

Sgt. Brown said Mr. Burgess, who was struggling and attempting to bite officers, was carried into the Station and put in the jail area.

He said he witnessed Mr. Burgess hitting his head on the floor of the cell causing blood to come from his nose.

This was when Sgt. Brown placed the first of three telephone calls to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital to request medical aid for the man.

After receiving advice from hospital staff, Sgt. Brown said he attempted to get hold of the Government doctor but was unsuccessful.

When he went back to check on Mr. Burgess, Sgt. Brown said he found the man rolling around the floor in his own blood and spitting at Police officers.

Sgt. Brown said he placed a second call for medical assistance since Mr.

Burgess was still acting violently and bleeding from the nose.

It was after his third call to the hospital that an ambulance came and rushed Mr. Burgess to the emergency department.

Pathologist Dr. Valerie Rao has told the inquest that Mr. Burgess died from a cocaine induced psychosis stemming from a mixture of alcohol and cocaine.

Earlier, Sgt. Burgess told Senior Coroner Will Francis that he became involved in case after a woman twice reported to Police that she had seen a man banging his head on City buildings.

He said he arrived at Par-La-Ville Road around 4.30 a.m. and found Mr. Burgess lying on the road surrounded by three people.

Sgt. Brown said he tried to get the man's name but he was mumbling incoherently and struggling to get free.

After calling an ambulance, he said two Police detectives arrived on the scene and one of them found and placed a towel under Mr. Burgess' head.

It was then that Mr. Burgess became violent requiring Sgt. Brown to request a bystander to help Police restrain the man.

"My main concern was to prevent Mr. Burgess from causing any further injury to himself or to any one of us trying to assist him,'' he explained. "When I got there he was banging his head on the road.'' Sgt. Brown said the struggle became really violent after he placed a hand cuff on the man's left wrist.

"We placed him on his front side and got his right arm around where we were able to put the cuff on.'' And he insisted that Mr. Burgess was not pushed to the ground nor was his head split during the episode.

Sgt. Brown testified that as authorities attempted to escort Mr. Burgess to an ambulance he said to give him a break and attempted to flee.

This, he said, was what prompted Police to place ankle cuffs on the volatile man and transport him to Hamilton Police Station.

One eyewitness told the inquest that Police were justified in using force to control and handcuff the erratic man.

"To see the violence that Mr. Burgess had in him, the Police had to use their force to control him,'' testified Shirley Lodge.

Mrs. Lodge said she "winced'' as she watched Mr. Burgess bang his head against the Bank of Bermuda's railings prior to the Police's arrival.

And she insisted she did not see Mr. Burgess suffer any injuries from the way Police handled him.

Witness Zeth Landy, who help handcuff Mr. Burgess, backed up the woman's claim but said his opinion was tainted by his personal views regarding the Police.

"Being black, to me, it looked normal what the Police was doing,'' he explained. "I'm used to the way Police officers handle black people but the white guy seemed outraged.'' On Thursday, Nicholas McGavern said he was unhappy with the way Police handled Mr. Burgess.

The inquest continues on Monday.