WIREDGOV

Five officers from Thames Valley police were not found to have breached any professional standards at a misconduct hearing yesterday. An IPCC investigation gathered evidence over their use of force prior to Mr Ullah’s death and allegations that officers altered their initial statements.

DC Richard Bazeley, DS Jason Liles, PC Howard Wynne, PC Katie Granger and PC Christopher Pomery were cleared of breaching professional standards of honesty and integrity and DS Liles was also cleared of breaching professional standards for use of force.

After it emerged at the first inquest that officers had made changes to their statements, the inquest was abandoned. The IPCC then began a new investigation into the nature and reasons for any changes made and the affect that had on any findings.

The investigation looked into events surrounding Mr Ullah’s death and the possibility that officers deliberately altered their initial statements and provided edited versions. In the investigator’s opinion, there was evidence to suggest that all five officers did have a case to answer for gross misconduct for honesty and integrity and DS Liles for his use of force.

In all investigations IPCC investigators gather evidence and present a case to the relevant police force. Thames Valley Police agreed with the IPCC that there was a case to answer but the officers were acquitted at a public misconduct hearing in Newbury yesterday.

IPCC Associate Commissioner Guido Liguori said yesterday:

“My thoughts are with Habib Ullah’s family and friends who suffered a tragic loss. The IPCC conducted two extensive investigations into the actions of officers on the night of his death and their subsequent testimonies at the first inquest.

“The high level of public interest; the gravity and seriousness of this case; and the need for transparency meant the full misconduct hearing was held in public and I give credit to Thames Valley Police for agreeing to this. The IPCC is not a judge or jury and despite our findings that five officers had a case to answer for gross misconduct they have today been cleared by a police tribunal.

“The IPCC works tirelessly to improve the way police deal with deaths in custody and this investigation showed the importance that should be placed on effective post-incident management and securing early testimony from the officers involved.”

The IPCC, in response to its review of its role in investigating deaths, is considering how these procedures can be improved to increase the public’s confidence in them and to prevent the issues raised in this report recurring.

The IPCC has produced draft statutory guidance on post-incident procedures. This included policy on those key policing witnesses, separation and prohibition on conferring, and giving detailed individual factual accounts. This guidance has been consulted on and is now being reviewed.

The IPCC referred its investigation report to the Crown Prosecution Service who, in August 2014, decided not to bring any criminal proceedings against any of the officers. An inquest jury in March 2015 recorded a case of death by misadventure.