Man found dead after contact with police - Norfolk Constabulary, May 2018

In May 2018, a man called Norfolk Constabulary to say he thought people were coming to his home to kill him and that he had barricaded himself in his room. The man informed the police that he was in possession of a knife and would harm anyone who tried to come in. Police officers arrived at the man’s home and spoke with him over the phone and through the door to his room for over two hours. They left after the man agreed to show officers that he was unharmed at his window. Officers obtained advice from the Mental Health Assessment team in the control room before they left.

Several hours later the man was found dead in his room after concerns for his welfare were raised again and the fire service gained entry.

Our investigators reviewed the incident log and took statements from officers and police staff who attended the scene and dealt with the incident in the control room. They also listened to the recordings of radio transmissions and phone calls made between officers.

Officers set out their rationale for not entering the room during the incident and this was found to be in line with the legislation and guidance relating to the powers of entry available to police officers.

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.

The man’s family complained that officers should have turned on their body-worn cameras when they first went to his home. We did not uphold their complaint as the decision to use body-worn cameras in this case would have been at the officers’ discretion. However, we agreed that there would have been value in officers’ recording the incident using body-worn video cameras, as this would have provided greater transparency of the actions officers took.

After reviewing our report Norfolk Constabulary agreed that the use of body-worn video would have been beneficial. This learning will be brought to the attention of the officers and also published on the force’s learning bulletin.