Police contact before man’s death - Kent Police, June 2018

On 2 June 2018, Kent Police officers went to a man’s home on two occasions. The first was following a request from South East Coast Ambulance Service after they had received reports of fighting at the man’s home. The second call was from the man reporting that a second man was being abusive and refusing to leave his home. Kent Police received a further call reporting a disturbance coming from the same address later on in the evening. Kent police officers did not attend this call. Kent Police received a fourth call from the man, who said he had killed the second man whom he had earlier reported for being abusive. Police officers attended and the second man was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

Our investigators attended the post-incident procedure and viewed the officers’ body-worn video footage. All police officers and staff involved provided statements. Investigators also listened to all calls made to Kent Police and to the radio transmissions between the control room and the officers who attended.

Evidence indicated that, when officers attended the first time, the paramedics were tending to the (second) man and had no concerns about him. Officers stated they had no legal powers to remove him, and the man who lived there did not appear to present a threat to him.

When officers arrived for the second time the (second) man appeared to be asleep. They asked the occupier to let the man sleep on his sofa as there was nowhere they could take him. This was in line with force policy, which states that officers should not leave a drunk and incapable person unattended, and try and arrange for someone such as a relative or friend to take responsibility for the person.

The third call from a neighbour was graded as ‘immediate’, but was downgraded, as previous call logs showed that officers had been to the property twice and the (second) man was asleep on both occasions. This action was in line with force policy.

We found that the man’s death could not have been foreseen, and there was nothing to indicate to either the call handlers or the attending officers that the home’s occupier would harm the (second) man.

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.

We concluded our investigation in November 2018 but waited until criminal proceedings were completed before publishing the outcomes of our investigation.