Police failed vulnerable Bristol patient, hearing told

Two police officers “failed” to investigate the robbery and strangulation of a vulnerable woman, a misconduct hearing heard.

PC James Stone and PC Daniel Sweet were called to Drummond Road, in St Pauls, Bristol, in 2022 after a 999 call about a woman screaming, but recorded no crime and asked no questions.

Instead, they drove the victim from the scene of the attack to the hospital where she was treated as an inpatient.

The pair deny breaching standards of professional conduct amounting to serious misconduct.

At the Avon and Somerset Police misconduct hearing at the force’s headquarters in Portishead, the panel heard that PC Stone and Sweet ended up finding her under the influence of drugs wearing only her pajamas and dressing gown on a cold night.

Solicitor Alan Jenkins, representing the police, said the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was a heroin and cocaine user who was staying in a high-care ward at Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) and went out to a cigarette. .

He said she got into a car with a man she knew who had a reputation for violence and he drove her down an alleyway and attacked her, stealing £280 and her mobile phone , according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She told the officers in the police car that she had been strangled by a man who tried to kill her.

PC Stone said in his statement that he was unaware of a crime as he did not hear the woman in the car as he was focused on driving, but Mr Jenkins said this was not true.

Mr Jenkins said: “Both officers failed to protect this lady.

“She was vulnerable but the officers did not ask any questions or pursue any enquiries.

“Both officers knew this was a violent man but took no action to apprehend him.”

The panel heard it took months for them to produce statements about what happened, despite repeated requests from senior officers.

PC Sweet admitted that, on reflection, he had made mistakes, but that he believed at the time that he had acted correctly as his priority was the welfare of the victim over the investigation of the robbery.

PC Sweet, 31, a qualified hostage negotiator, told the hearing: “Well-being was very much at the forefront of my decision-making.

“He was slurring his words and mumbling. I was concerned for her well-being.

“The protection he needed there and then was to go back to the hospital.

“It was outside in the cold. I had my thick jacket on and was cold. It must be freezing.

“On reflection, I was so focused on welfare that I almost saw the murder charges as secondary.”

He also admitted that he should have taken notes on her account, but that her well-being came first.

PC Sweet said it would not have been appropriate to question her because she could not give a coherent report and that would have to happen later.

He said he put the mechanism in place for the case to be investigated by asking the female nurse to include the assault in her medical notes so police could interview her when she was fit and well.

“With all my concerns put together, it felt absolutely right,” PC Sweet said.

PC Sweet said he did not mark the body-worn video as evidence because a crime report had not been made and he did not realize how quickly the footage would be deleted.

“I thought I had more time – I didn’t know it was going to run out,” the officer said.

PC Sweet admitted the three-month delay in the statement was unacceptable.

Mr Jenkins told him: “You were late making a statement because you had no notes, so writing this statement will be an embarrassment.”

The agent replied, “No, there was absolutely no intention of the delay. There was no embarrassment.”