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Officers failed to find dead body Officers failed to find dead body
(about 1 hour later)
The PSNI have said they can not yet comment on claims two officers, who failed to find a body while searching a house, have been disciplined. The Police Ombudsman has recommended that two police officers be disciplined after they failed to find the decomposed body of a man in his home.
Policing Board member Martina Anderson said details of the incident, which happened in September 2008, were revealed to the board on Wednesday. Policing Board member Martina Anderson expressed her concerns after details of the incident, which happened in 2008, were revealed to the board this week.
She said officers failed to find the body of man after his neighbour raised concerns with the police. The Police Ombudsman's Al Hutchinson said lessons must be learnt.
A Police Ombudsman's report is to be released later. "If it wasn't for the persistence of his neighbour the discovery of his body would have been delayed further."
Ms Anderson said the neighbour contacted police in Londonderry on 14 September 2008, worried that she had not seen her neighbour for over a week. In a report, Mr Hutchison made recommendations that two police officers be disciplined.
An officer entered the property but found nothing. "One for a failure to deal properly with the initial report made to police, the other was the police officer who carried out the initial search."
The next day two more officers searched the property and found the body of a man under a blanket on the sofa. Mr Hutchinson also recommended that police in the district be reminded about keeping an index of properties or locations which present issues of concern.
Ms Anderson said details of the Police Ombudsman's investigation were given to the Policing Board's Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee on Wednesday. "This would help officers by ensuring they were well informed, prepared and equipped for some of the difficult situations, they are faced with" he said.
A post mortem revealed he had died before the initial call to police and there was no suggestion of foul play. The man, who was dependant on alcohol, had not been seen for more than a week when police were alerted by a neighbour to concerns for his safety.
"This was a tragic case and one from which lessons need to be learned and I am glad that the PSNI have now implemented changes to their policy in response to the Ombudsman's investigation," said the Foyle MLA. Property
"Two officers have also received disciplinary sanctions for their failures in this case and I hope that we never see a repetition of this kind of incident." On 14 September 2008, the man's neighbour contacted police in Londonderry, worried that she had not seen her neighbour for over a week.
The next day an officer entered the property but found nothing.
Mr Hutchinson said the officer who was about to go inside the house was cautioned by a colleague about the awful state of the property.
"Undeterred, and without either protective clothing or a torch, the officer went inside and began a search.
"The officer said the main living room windows were partially boarded up, the curtains were drawn and the lights were not working, all of which made visibility poor.
Body
The officers left the house without finding the body, which was under a blanket on a sofa in the room.
Mr Hutchinson said the police made additional inquiries with the Housing Executive and established that the man still lived at the property.
"Despite inquiries with Social Services and attempts to contact the man's family, they were not able to get any more information on his whereabouts.
"Local police patrols were informed to report any sightings of the man," Mr Hutchinson said.
The following day, a police officer who had previous knowledge of the house, went inside and began an initial search, but without success.
When he came outside a neighbour told the officer that the man ate and slept in his living room and that a Housing Executive official had previously found him asleep under a blanket on the sofa.
"The officer returned inside and found the man in the position described by the neighbour, his body decomposing," said Mr Hutchinson.
A post mortem revealed the man had died before the initial call to police and there was no suggestion of foul play.
Mr Hutchinson said the circumstances of his death are poignant.
"I think there is a lesson for all of us in official organisations that vulnerable people, such as those dependant on alcohol, are still falling though the cracks in the system."
Earlier on Thursday, Foyle MLA, Martina Anderson, said details of the Police Ombudsman's investigation were given to the Policing Board's Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee on Wednesday.
"This was a tragic case and one from which lessons need to be learned and I am glad that the PSNI have now implemented changes to their policy in response to the Ombudsman's investigation," Ms Anderson said.
"I hope that we never see a repetition of this kind of incident."