Police who failed disabled murder victim found guilty

Mr Ebrahimi, 44, was attacked outside his flat, beaten unconscious then set alight by neighbour Lee James in Bristol on 14 July 2013.

James, 24, of Capgrave Crescent, Brislington, was jailed for life for the murder, while next-door neighbour Stephen Norley, 25, received four years for assisting an offender.

Today a PC and PCSO from Avon and Somerset Police were found guilty of misconduct in a public office in conduct office over their handling of the case after a seven-week trial.

Killer said he would ‘do time’

Bristol Crown Court heard how James wrongly believed Ebrahimi to be a paedophile, and had told police days before the killing that he would “do time to protect his children”.

On 11 July Mr Ebrahimi made a 999 emergency call, saying James had entered his flat and assaulted him.

When Pcs Leanne Winter and Helen Harris arrived at the scene, they noted that father-of three James was so angry he was foaming at the mouth.

It was then that he vowed he would “do time” to safeguard his children, the jury was told.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said James was backed by a crowd of local people and “vigilantism was in the air”.

But the officers arrested Mr Ebrahimi instead, taking him to Broadbury Road police station.

‘Don’t talk to me’

CCTV footage was released during the trial showing PC Harris telling the Iranian national: “Don’t talk to me. I’m not talking. I can’t even be bothered to waste my energy on you.”

She added: “You’re not my friend – I’m a police officer and you’re a pain in the ass. Don’t speak to me.”

Mr Ebrahimi, who had mobility problems and suffered from depression, was released the next day. He made 12 calls to police saying he feared for his safety, and reporting seeing a mob gathering outside his flat.

On 12 July PC Henrietta Staveley-Brown sent an email to local beat manager Kevin Duffy, saying residents were heading to “dangerous ground that could bring on vigilante type issues”.

The officer later went to speak to Duffy at the police station, but Duffy said he did not believe there was an imminent risk to Mr Ebrahimi.

Duffy said asked PCSO Andrew Passmore to patrol the area around the victim’s home address. But Mr Aylett said the response was inadequate.

“Had something been done, the prosecution suggest that Lee James would have realised that the police were at the very least keeping an eye on him. Instead he must have thought he could simply do as he pleased.

“All in all, the prosecution suggest, there was a potentially toxic situation that called for proactive and effective policing. The prosecution contest that all of these defendants failed.”

The fatal attack took place shortly after 1am on 14 July. James kicked and punched the victim until he lost consciousness, then dragged him to a nearby street and set him on fire.

Duffy, 52, was convicted of misconduct in a public office, while Harris, 40, and Winter, 38, were cleared of the same charge.

Passmore, 55, was acquitted of misconduct in a public office by failing to carry out any or an adequate patrol around Mr Ebrahimi’s home.

But he was convicted of misconduct in a public office by falsely claiming to have spent an hour patrolling the area during an interview with murder detectives.

Prosecutors said the officers let their personal dislike of Mr Ebrahimi affect their professional judgement in dealing with his case.

Long history of complaints

Duffy told the court he had been dealing with complaints involving Mr Ebrahimi from 2007, when a female neighbour complained he had been harrassing her. The case was dropped due to insufficient eivdence.

Mr Ebrahimi claimed he been racially assaulted outside a local pub in 2009. He said he was thrown up against a wall and punched in the face, with the attackers telling him: ”We’re English, we’re special. You’re not special, you’re foreign.“ He later dropped the complaint.

He also claimed he had been racially harrassed in a local shop, and said a neighbour had made a threat to kill him.

Neighbours told police he filed the complaint after they shouted at him for touching himself in a communal area, and the case was dropped.

Responding to a complaint of vandalism in 2011, Duffy wrote on the log: “The information at 88 Capgrove Crescent is Bijan Ebrahimi. He has a history of making spurious complaints against his neighbours.”

Mr Aylett said Duffy “regarded Bijan Ebrahimi as a liar” and in one telephone call referred to him a “perpetual liar”.

“He must also have regarded Mr Ebrahimi as a nuisance and he was, we suggest, simply not interested in any complaint that Mr Ebrahimi had”, the prosecutor added.

Duffy denied having a “deep-seated animosity” towards the Iranian, saying: “There’s no animosity. I was dealing with him in a professional way.”

On July 11 2013, Mr Ebrahimi called to speak to Duffy and asked him to contact him. Duffy said he was not aware of the call but assumed the disabled man would have wanted to discuss moving to a different council house.

He told the court: “Sometimes he would want to make a complaint and it seemed he wanted to use those complaints as evidence to take to the council. I felt sometimes he would want that as ammunition to the council.”

Duffy insisted he had never encouraged Mr Ebrahimi to film or photograph his neighbours for proof for the council. “Several neighbours said he would say something antagonistic then he would try to film their response,” he added.

‘Senseless’ killing

Reacting to today’s verdicts, Avon and Somerset’s temporary Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe described Mr Ebrahimi’s murder as “senseless”.

She said: “This tragedy should never have happened. A great deal has been done to understand and reflect on the events in the weeks leading up to Mr Ebrahimi’s death.

“We have changed and improved the way we work and will continue to work with our partners to do everything in our power to prevent such a dreadful event happening again.”

Tony Murphy, from Bhatt Murphy Solicitors who represent Mr Ebrahimi’s family, told Channel 4 News that Bijan Ebrahimi had always put his trust in the police when encountering problems: “What is so striking and poignant is that he never gave up… asking for help from them to do their job and ultimately he was failed.”

Avon and Somerset Police said 18 officers and staff – including Duffy, Passmore, Harris and Winter – were facing misconduct proceedings. Nine face allegations of gross misconduct and nine misconduct.