Contact with a man before he sustained a serious injury - Dyfed-Powys Police, August 2018

On 4 August 2018 Dyfed-Powys Police officers responded to a concern for welfare report about a man who was intoxicated and had left in his vehicle. The caller informed the call handler that the man had depression, had indicated he wanted to harm himself – and had previously attempted to do so in the past – and usually carried a knife

Officers responded and located the man’s vehicle within 24 minutes of receiving the call. They stopped the vehicle and attempted to speak to the man. The man stabbed himself in the chest. One of the officers discharged his Taser on the man to prevent him from harming himself further. The officers provided first aid to the man until the arrival of ambulance personnel. The man suffered serious non-life threatening injuries.

Our investigators attended the scene and conducted a detailed examination. They took witness statements from the attending police officers, spoke to the man who was injured, obtained a download from the Taser, and examined radio and telephone transmissions.

We found no evidence to indicate that the police caused or contributed to the man sustaining a serious injury.

Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.