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2 months ago
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Callum May and Liam Barnes, East Midlands
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Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar were killed on 13 June 2023
Police watchdog staff who described an inquiry into the 2023 Nottingham attacks killer as "politically motivated" are "disrespectful and inhumane", the mother of one of his victims said.
In March, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) reopened its investigation into Leicestershire Police officers following new evidence about Valdo Calocane assaulting two people in May 2023, weeks before he killed Ian Coates, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber.
A report in The Times said IOPC investigators told officers they would "get off with words of advice or reflective practice" - the lowest form of sanction - and that their disciplinary case was "being driven by the families of the victims".
Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby, told Radio 4's Today programme she was "not terribly surprised given our interactions with the IOPC", adding the allegations puts the watchdog "into disarray".
Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, and Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O'Malley Kumar, attended a memorial walk to lay flowers in Nottingham, to mark the second anniversary of the attacks
The police watchdog has removed some staff from investigating the case of the Calocane after they allegedly gave officers details of their investigation.
"It's hard to have any reaction other than just pure horror," added Mrs Webber.
"It's indicative of the whole sorry, terrible, tragic mess, and the car crash of our institutions that has led to us having a statutory public inquiry."
Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, fatally stabbed Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar on 13 June 2023, and was sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024.
The IOPC said it had commissioned an independent external review, with sources claiming the staff accused of making the comments were not the decision-makers about the case or about disciplinary action.
An IOPC spokesperson said: "We are aware of allegations made about IOPC staff by Leicestershire Police officers who are subjects of an IOPC investigation.
"The allegations involved comments alleged to have been made about that investigation.
"We are treating this matter extremely seriously and have commissioned an external party to investigate them alongside other complaints about the investigation made by the families of the victims.
"We will continue to provide the families with regular updates as these matters progress."
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