Man found dead after reported welfare concerns – South Yorkshire Police, February 2021

In February 2021, a member of staff from the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield contacted South Yorkshire Police (SYP) to report concerns for a man who had attended the hospital expressing suicidal thoughts. The man had left prior to being assessed. The man had left in a taxi after researching the location of nearby train tracks. SYP graded the incident as a priority and made efforts to locate the man. Sadly, the man was subsequently found dead a short time later having been struck by a train.

We obtained documentary evidence from SYP that demonstrated the police response to the report for the man’s safety. The British Transport Police also provided us with statements gathered as part of their investigation into the man’s death.

We interviewed SYP officers and members of police staff involved in the recording of the incident and the search for the man. We established that the man had already been struck and killed by the train prior to SYP receiving the call from the hospital.

Our investigation found no evidence that any police officer or member of police staff may have acted in a manner which would justify disciplinary action. All police officers and staff were treated as witnesses and cooperated fully with this investigation.

We concluded our investigation in June 2021 and shared our report with SYP who agreed with our findings. The inquest into the man’s death took place in February 2022 and HM Coroner recorded a conclusion of suicide.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system, and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. In this case, the investigation did not identify any learning.