Police officers sacked after man dies in Cornwall

The officers left the man unsheltered, a disciplinary panel found

Two police officers who left a vulnerable man to die outside a railway station in Cornwall have been found guilty by Devon and Cornwall Police of gross misconduct.

It comes after a vulnerable man died at St Erth station, near Hayle, on 1 November 2022.

A police disciplinary panel ruled that PC David Bishop be dismissed and former PC Daniel Baber would have been sacked had he not already quit the force.

The panel heard how the officers had called for an ambulance before leaving the 51-year-old drunk and vulnerable victim who later died in hospital.

Misleading log entries

The officers called for an ambulance after they saw the man at 01:00 GMT, but left him after 50 minutes as they went to another high-risk incident, the panel heard.

He had not been under any shelter when they left and weather conditions had been poor.

CCTV showed the pair drive by at 02:20 but not stopping to check on the man.

They then returned again at 05:00 GMT and found the rain-soaked man asleep.

The panel heard they had called for an ambulance again but this time had stayed in their police vehicle a few feet away.

However, about 50 minutes later, the man's condition deteriorated and he later died in hospital.

The panel was told the man died from drug intoxication and pneumonia and it was not alleged the officers' inaction caused his death.

But it was also informed that PC Bishop had made misleading entries on the police log to overstate their actions in monitoring the man's welfare.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct's David Ford said their safeguarding actions "were sorely lacking" and they did not try to move him into a sheltered position, or cover him to keep warm on a cold night or drive him to hospital.