By Andy Dolan and George Odling and Simon Trump
22:32 18 Feb 2024, updated 23:55 18 Feb 2024
The families of three murder victims have been left ‘sickened’ after graphic details of their injuries were shared to a police WhatsApp group – then forwarded to others.
An officer posted a message detailing the horrific injuries suffered by students Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber and caretaker Ian Coates during Valdo Calocane’s knife rampage in Nottingham last June.
Another officer, PC Matthew Gell, sent the ‘distasteful’ message to his wife and a friend, a gross misconduct hearing was told.
A source told the Mail that a shift WhatsApp group, which included PC Gell, was sent details of the injuries, as well as how the police were responding to the unfolding incident.
Speaking on behalf of the three families who lost loved ones, 19-year-old Barnaby’s mother, Emma Webber, last night said revelations of the ‘needless voyeurism’ by officers ‘sicken us’.
Mrs Webber, 51, said: ‘What an abhorrent way to conduct an investigation. We cannot emphasise how painful this tragedy is for all our families, and to learn that there has been internal needless voyeurism of the vicious knife attacks on our loved ones is unforgivable. We were not, at any point, made aware of this (data breach).’
Former Victims’ Commissioner Dame Vera Baird said: ‘This is absolutely shocking. Extraordinary behaviour from police officers who should know better.
‘People like this do not deserve to be police officers because clearly they cannot be trusted with the responsibilities that come with being one.
‘It is capable of damaging trust in policing – people won’t want to reveal things to officers if they worry they will share them with any old person or could be chuckling over their notebooks about private matters.’
The panel was told PC Gell had forwarded the message, which also incorrectly stated the atrocity had been declared a terror attack, after his wife and a friend messaged him asking about the situation in Nottingham. PC Gell was issued with a final written warning after being found guilty of gross misconduct at the hearing, held with little advance notice on Friday, January 19 – just two working days before the start of 32-year-old Calocane’s sentencing hearing.
Nottinghamshire Police said the officer who sent the original message was ‘dealt with informally’ and carried out ‘developmental learning’. The Police Federation’s Tom Hill, for PC Gell, said his client was a ‘sacrificial lamb’ who had been treated ‘unfairly and harshly’ in comparison to others.
The shocking episode is the latest in a string of scandals involving police officers acting inappropriately over WhatsApp.
In June 2020, two Metropolitan Police PCs were jailed for taking and sharing sick photos of the bodies of murdered sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.
Firearms officer Wayne Couzens joked with colleagues about rape two years before he murdered Sarah Everard. Two of Couzens’ former colleagues were convicted over the posts. And five former Met officers who served in the same unit as Couzens admitted sending racist messages in a separate group.
Last April, two Scotland Yard officers were sacked over sick messages including some which mocked Katie Price’s disabled son. Along with six former colleagues, they exchanged racist, misogynistic, transphobic and anti-Semitic messages between May 2016 and June 2018.
Mrs Webber spoke out ahead of a meeting between the bereaved families and Attorney General Victoria Prentis today.
The families are expected to be told the outcome of an independent review into the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to accept Calocane’s guilty pleas to manslaughter – on the basis of diminished responsibility – and whether it sufficiently consulted with the victims’ families, rather than pursue murder charges.
Paranoid schizophrenic Calocane admitted manslaughter and was given a hospital order after a three-day hearing at Nottingham Crown Court.
The police watchdog is investigating Nottinghamshire Police over a string of potential failings relating to the case, including its contact with Calocane before the killings.
Mrs Webber has accused police of having ‘blood on their hands’ after it emerged a warrant had been issued for Calocane’s arrest nine months before the attack.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry said she had asked the College of Policing to conduct an independent review.
Commenting on the sharing of injury details in the WhatsApp group, she said: ‘Of course this sort of behaviour should not be happening, but if there is anything that was badly handled it will come out in the review.’
Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘The messages are crude and distasteful and we have taken this matter extremely seriously, resulting in one officer being handed a final written warning and the other officer receiving management intervention. This misconduct hearing was held in the public domain… and was overseen by an independent legally qualified chairman.’
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
