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Father of Nottingham attack victim complains after 'offensive' meeting with police watchdog which was started with a prayer
Father of Nottingham attack victim complains after 'offensive' meeting with police watchdog which was started with a prayer

Daily Mail​

time09-06-2025

  • Daily Mail​

Father of Nottingham attack victim complains after 'offensive' meeting with police watchdog which was started with a prayer

The father of a Nottingham attack victim has complained about a police watchdog boss who began a meeting with grieving families with a prayer. Dr Sanjoy Kumar, whose daughter Grace was one of three people killed by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane during a rampage in June 2023, described the meeting as 'patronising and offensive.' A two-year inquiry into the killings of students Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, will scrutinise the role of prosecutors, police and medical professionals. And it has now emerged that Dr Kumar believes a regional director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) behaved inappropriately when he met with the bereaved families nine months after the attack and started the meeting with a prayer. 'I found it patronising and offensive,' he told the Times. 'I didn't want a prayer, I wanted answers. I've lost my daughter and it was his job to give me the truth, not a prayer. 'There are plenty of places to pray and the IOPC isn't one of them.' The regional director is understood to be Derrick Campbell, the watchdog's director of engagement. A spokesman said: 'We can confirm we've received a complaint about one of our directors and we are dealing with it in line with our complaints and feedback procedure.' The IOPC had previously issued a report which concluded that police failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Calocane a month before his killing spree. In a statement at the time, Mr Campbell said: 'Those who are closely impacted by our decision, including the bereaved families and the officers involved, have been notified and we will complete this work as quickly as possible.' Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder. The prosecution decision not to pursue murder charges has been widely criticised by the victims' families. Barnaby's mother Emma Webber said in February last year that relatives had a lot of concerns 'that were in the most part wholly ignored' by the Crown Prosecution Service. Senior retired judge Deborah Taylor will chair the inquiry, which aims to report back within two years, with recommendations to prevent similar incidents.

Nottingham victim's parent complain about ‘offensive' IOPC meeting
Nottingham victim's parent complain about ‘offensive' IOPC meeting

The Guardian

time08-06-2025

  • The Guardian

Nottingham victim's parent complain about ‘offensive' IOPC meeting

The family of a student killed in the Nottingham attacks have formally complained to the police watchdog over an 'offensive' meeting with one of its directors. Valdo Calocane killed Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates in a spate of attacks in the city in June 2023. He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility as a result of paranoid schizophrenia and three counts of attempted murder. It was announced in February that prosecutors, police and medical professionals would be scrutinised in the two-year inquiry, including the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Grace's father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, said that an IOPC regional director had behaved inappropriately when the bereaved families met the watchdog in March 2024, including by starting the meeting with a prayer. 'I found it patronising and offensive,' Kumar told the Sunday Times. 'I didn't want a prayer, I wanted answers. I've lost my daughter and it was his job to give me the truth, not a prayer. 'There are plenty of places to pray and the IOPC isn't one of them.' The regional director at the meeting, Derrick Campbell, is now the watchdog's director of engagement, the newspaper reported. An IOPC spokesperson said: 'We can confirm we've received a complaint about one of our directors and we are dealing with it in line with our complaints and feedback procedure.' The watchdog previously prepared a report that concluded Leicestershire police officers had failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Calocane which could have stopped his killing spree a month later. Three officers were due to face a misconduct meeting but the force postponed this. In March, the IOPC said it would reinvestigate whether Calocane's previous history and an outstanding arrest warrant were seen by officers before the investigation was closed down. The watchdog said it had made its decision 'after the force provided new evidence, which had not previously been available to the IOPC' and 'representations by the bereaved families which led to further inquiries with Leicestershire police'.

Family of Nottingham attack victims complain about ‘offensive' watchdog meeting
Family of Nottingham attack victims complain about ‘offensive' watchdog meeting

The Independent

time08-06-2025

  • The Independent

Family of Nottingham attack victims complain about ‘offensive' watchdog meeting

The family of a student killed in the Nottingham attacks has described their meeting with the police watchdog leading the public inquiry into her death as 'offensive'. Valdo Calocane killed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, before attempting to kill three other people in the city in June 2023. It was announced in February that prosecutors, police and medical professionals would be scrutinised in the two-year inquiry, including the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Grace's father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, said that an IOPC regional director had behaved inappropriately when the bereaved families met the watchdog nine months after the attacks in March 2024, including by starting the meeting with a prayer. Dr Kumar told The Sunday Times: 'I found it patronising and offensive. 'I didn't want a prayer, I wanted answers. I've lost my daughter and it was his job to give me the truth, not a prayer. 'There are plenty of places to pray and the IOPC isn't one of them.' The regional director at the meeting, Derrick Campbell, is now the watchdog's director of engagement, the newspaper reported. An IOPC spokesperson said: 'We can confirm we've received a complaint about one of our directors and we are dealing with it in line with our complaints and feedback procedure.' The IOPC previously prepared a report which concluded that police failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Calocane, which could have stopped his murder spree a month later, leading to the watchdog reopening its investigation into the incidents in March. In a statement at that time, Mr Campbell said: 'Those who are closely impacted by our decision, including the bereaved families and the officers involved, have been notified and we will complete this work as quickly as possible.' Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder, something which has been widely criticised by the victims' families. Barnaby's mother Emma Webber said in February last year that the families had a lot of concerns 'that were in the most part wholly ignored' by the Crown Prosecution Service. Senior retired judge Deborah Taylor will chair the inquiry, which aims to report back within two years, with recommendations to prevent similar incidents.

Family of Nottingham attack victims complain about ‘offensive' watchdog meeting
Family of Nottingham attack victims complain about ‘offensive' watchdog meeting

Yahoo

time08-06-2025

  • Yahoo

Family of Nottingham attack victims complain about ‘offensive' watchdog meeting

The family of a student killed in the Nottingham attacks has described their meeting with the police watchdog leading the public inquiry into her death as 'offensive'. Valdo Calocane killed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, before attempting to kill three other people in the city in June 2023. It was announced in February that prosecutors, police and medical professionals would be scrutinised in the two-year inquiry, including the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Grace's father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, said that an IOPC regional director had behaved inappropriately when the bereaved families met the watchdog nine months after the attacks in March 2024, including by starting the meeting with a prayer. Dr Kumar told The Sunday Times: 'I found it patronising and offensive. 'I didn't want a prayer, I wanted answers. I've lost my daughter and it was his job to give me the truth, not a prayer. 'There are plenty of places to pray and the IOPC isn't one of them.' The regional director at the meeting, Derrick Campbell, is now the watchdog's director of engagement, the newspaper reported. An IOPC spokesperson said: 'We can confirm we've received a complaint about one of our directors and we are dealing with it in line with our complaints and feedback procedure.' The IOPC previously prepared a report which concluded that police failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Calocane, which could have stopped his murder spree a month later, leading to the watchdog reopening its investigation into the incidents in March. In a statement at that time, Mr Campbell said: 'Those who are closely impacted by our decision, including the bereaved families and the officers involved, have been notified and we will complete this work as quickly as possible.' Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder, something which has been widely criticised by the victims' families. Barnaby's mother Emma Webber said in February last year that the families had a lot of concerns 'that were in the most part wholly ignored' by the Crown Prosecution Service. Senior retired judge Deborah Taylor will chair the inquiry, which aims to report back within two years, with recommendations to prevent similar incidents.

Nottingham victims' families call for manslaughter charges against NHS
Nottingham victims' families call for manslaughter charges against NHS

Telegraph

time26-05-2025

  • Health
  • Telegraph

Nottingham victims' families call for manslaughter charges against NHS

The families of the Nottingham attack victims have called for corporate manslaughter charges to be brought against the NHS. Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, said staff had failed 'at every level' after it emerged the man who killed his daughter was sectioned four times and let go without an effective plan in place on each occasion. Valdo Calocane killed O'Malley-Kumar, 19, alongside fellow student Barnaby Webber, 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, before attempting to kill three other people in Nottingham in June 2023. Calocane, 34, was originally charged with murder, but this was downgraded to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility because of his paranoid schizophrenia. There have been two major reports into Calocane's treatment before the killings, but Dr Kumar told The Telegraph he rejected their findings. He said that while they highlighted errors and made recommendations, individuals had still not been held accountable. Dr Kumar said: 'They need to pay the price with legal action like corporate manslaughter.' He said the families of the victims would be travelling to London to meet Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, next month to ask him to hold individual medical staff accountable. Dr Kumar said the families had been failed by staff working at 'every level' within Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. 'It is clear they don't learn lessons,' he said. 'I will now endeavour to get all the staff and psychiatrists named who failed us. That is how we will stop this national epidemic of mental health-related homicide by holding individuals accountable. 'Calocane, the monster, was sectioned four times. Each time the lazy medics did nothing new in their management. They left this 30-year-old animal with 17 to 18-year-old students in the same halls of residence.' An independent review into Calocane's treatment history before the killings was published in full in February However, NHS officials had initially only planned to publish a summary of the 302-page report as they were concerned it contained his confidential medical details. It was only after the families raised concerns that NHS England made an about-turn and agreed to publish it in full. Dr Kumar said: 'If someone needed four hip replacements, their orthopaedic surgeon would be held accountable. So why, if someone is sectioned four times, are medics not held accountable? 'My mission is to end all mental health homicide in our country in the name of my brave and beautiful daughter. We must live in the safest country in Europe, our children in schools, on buses and colleges must be safe. All our relatives must be safe.' The investigation highlighted repeated failures to treat Calocane's paranoid schizophrenia and escalating violent outbursts. Doctors responsible for his care ignored repeated requests for Calocane to be given a community treatment order and long-acting antipsychotic drugs, despite pleas from nurses treating him in the community, who managed the risk to themselves by not visiting him alone. He was admitted to hospital and sectioned under the Mental Health Act four times between 2020 and 2022 because of his violent behaviour and refusal to take his medication. Mental health services eventually lost track of him and discharged him to a GP in the months before the attacks. Violent psychosis The investigation found Calocane's care team accepted he did not want to take a long-lasting antipsychotic drug for reasons including 'him not liking needles'. The authors also echoed concerns from a report published six months before by the Care Quality Commission, which identified five missed opportunities to deal with Calocane's violent psychosis. It found Calocane regularly failed to take his schizophrenia medication and there was a 'theme running through his clinical records' that he did not believe he was ill. Last week, the terms of reference for the public inquiry, which will begin hearing evidence later this year, were published for the first time. It will examine the role of prosecutors, police and medical staff in the years leading up to the killings, and their response in the aftermath. Nottinghamshire Police has previously admitted it should have done more to arrest Calocane sooner. A warrant for his arrest in relation to an assault on an emergency worker had been outstanding for nine months before the killings. The inquiry will also look at the police decision not to take toxicology samples from Calocane following the attack.

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