Police officer linked to Rotherham inquiry dies after being hit by car
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Version 0 of 1. A South Yorkshire police officer who was under investigation in connection with the Rotherham child sexual abuse affair has died after being hit by a car while crossing the road. PC Hassan Ali, 44, was under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) following allegations that he made advances towards a victim of the abuse, twice asking for a date, according to the Sheffield Star newspaper. South Yorkshire police said Ali died after he was involved in a collision in Sheffield last week while off duty. The force was treating Ali’s death as an accident at this stage, but investigations continue. “The driver who hit him has been spoken to,” said a force spokeswoman. She said there were no indications of foul play or the crash being a “hit job”. According to the Star, Ali was crossing a road on the evening of 28 January when he was struck by a car, suffering serious injuries. He died in hospital on Friday morning, the report said. According to the newspaper, four complaints were made to police against Ali, a neighbourhood policing officer based in Rotherham, by two members of the public. The paper said it had uncovered this in an investigation but did not immediately publish its findings after police said they were monitoring the officer. The paper quoted Chief Constable David Crompton of South Yorkshire police as saying: “All of our thoughts are with Hassan’s family and on behalf of the force I would like to offer my sincere condolences at this incredibly difficult time. PC Ali was a well-liked officer whose colleagues are devastated by what has happened.” The Star said it believed Ali had been placed on restricted duties while the IPCC decided whether to whether to launch a full investigation. The paper quoted one of the complainants as saying Ali first asked her out when she was 17, and again when she was 21. At the time, she said Ali knew she had been a victim of sustained abuse, describing his behaviour as “inappropriate and totally unprofessional”. South Yorkshire police confirmed last month that an officer had been referred to the IPCC, the Star said. The force would not confirm if Ali was the officer referred. On Wednesday the cabinet of Rotherham borough council announced their intention to resign en masse in the wake of a scathing report into the authority’s failings by Louise Casey, the head of the government’s troubled families unit, commissioned by the communities secretary, Eric Pickles. The council was put under central government control after Casey’s 154-page report concluded it was unfit for purpose and more concerned about protecting its own reputation than its most vulnerable citizens. The Casey inquiry was commissioned following the publication last August of another report by former social worker Professor Alexis Jay, which said blatant collective failures by the council and police had led to the sexual exploitation of at least 1,400 children in Rotherham over a 12-year period. Last year, following the Jay inquiry into child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the town, Katie (not her real name), a CSE victim, registered a complaint to South Yorkshire police against Ali. She alleges Ali repeatedly asked her out on dates after being assigned to her case. Katie claims she encountered him after asking South Yorkshire police for protection when her abuser violently attacked her in 2004. Fearing for her life, she was persuaded by a support worker in hospital to report her abuser to the police. Shortly afterwards, she says Ali was assigned to her case. “I remember PC Ali, I remember him very well. He came to my home after I left my abuser and Ali asked me out on a date. I thought that inappropriate given that I had only turned 16,” she told the Guardian. Katie said that she encountered Ali again a few years later when she and her family were threatened with kidnap and violence. She said: “I rang him to ask for a picture [of her abuser] to give to my child’s school in case he tried to kidnap him. He said, ‘I can get you one but please don’t tell anyone because I could lose my job because it’s something I’m not meant to do.’ He came to my parents house and we got talking and again he asked me out on a date.” Her last encounter with the officer was in a club in Rotherham, years later. The father of another CSE victim said: “It’s not professional for an officer to behave like that.” Public confidence and trust in Rotherham police is so fragile that many people suspect foul play in Ali’s death, despite police insisting there is currently no cause for suspicion. The father said: “We don’t know what happened. Our minds might be working overtime but they are being very coy about it. He was put on restricted duties and the next thing we know is that he is dead. I don’t think anyone has any trust reporting to police – that’s why we have the problems we have now. It’s going to take a lot to rebuild that.’ He added: “There’s so little trust – everyone is asking the same questions – what are the circumstances? Did he walk in front of the car or was it a hit and run. Police are being cagey. People are sceptical. People don’t trust the police because of what has happened in the past. There is a lot of work to do.” |