AN inquest in to the death of an American citizen who died after allegedly being beaten over the head by police has been delayed over arguments as to whether RUC officers should be forced to give evidence.

John Hemsworth, 40, died in January 1998 after suffering a stroke at his home in west Belfast.

Originally born in New Jersey, Hemsworth had moved back to Northern Ireland with his family when he was an infant. On December 27, 1997 Hemsworth was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital suffering from severe headaches.

He died four days later, on January 1, 1998 of a “catastrophic” stroke.

It emerged after his death that Hemsworth had previously lodged a complaint against the RUC claiming he was assaulted and beaten by officers during the 1997 Drumcree crisis.

He claimed that he had been stopped by police while walking home from a night out with friends in west Belfast on July 7, 1997 and was beaten around the head and face.

He was treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital later that night for a broken jaw and facial injuries. Notes made by the emergency medical officer on duty are understood to refer to the injuries being consistent with being beaten with a stick.

Hemsworth, who was a heating engineer, had been previously discussing with his wife Colette about a possible return to live in America.

Colette Hemsworth later recalled how her husband’s character changed dramatically in the six months prior to his death.

“He wasn’t the same man after the beating,” she said. “At the beginning of November he began to have breakdowns.

“He thought the world was against him. He was depressed and began crying a lot.”

Although a post-mortem was carried out, no causal link was found between the death and the alleged attack.

Hemsworth’s death was subsequently registered without an inquest.

However with the help of Amnesty International his family later discovered conflicting evidence from a separate medical expert who concluded that the alleged assault was the sole “direct underlying cause of death.”

The attorney general subsequently ordered a fresh investigation into the death. However, nearly 10 years on, delays in holding an inquest into the death continue.

On Tuesday coroner John Leckey warned the family’s barrister Karen Quinlivan that he would not call 10 police witnesses who had been present at the scene of the alleged attack, as they had previously stated they had not seen the alleged attack.

Leckey said he would only call witnesses who were able to give relevant evidence and would not allow the family’s legal team to go on a “fishing expedition.”

Quinlivan argued that the right to cross-examine witnesses lay at the very heart of the Hemsworth family’s right to a proper inquiry into the death.

The inquest has been adjourned for a further month for Quinlivan to submit a written request to the coroner for the police officers to be compelled to give evidence at the inquest.