Coroner calls for action after Bedfordshire policeman's suicide

Sgt Sean Duignan was found dead at the airport police unit after gaining access to the armoury

A coroner said action needed to be taken to prevent further deaths after an officer took a gun from a police armoury and killed himself.

Sgt Sean Duignan was found dead at the Luton Airport police unit in May 2021.

An inquest heard the 44-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drink driving two days before his death.

Assistant coroner for Bedfordshire, Sean Cummings, said he was "not reassured" effective action was taken to secure the armoury after the death.

Dr Cummings issued a prevention of future deaths report outlining his concerns.

At an inquest in Ampthill in November, Dr Cummings said there was a "serious failure" to safely manage the police armoury at the unit.

The inquest heard Sgt Duignan had been arrested at his home on 29 May after a member of the public had reported concerns about his driving and he was taken to Milton Keynes police station.

Sgt Duignan had his armoury access rescinded following his arrest but this was not communicated to other officers "for privacy reasons".

On the morning of 31 May 2021, Sgt Duignan went to the Luton Airport base, entered the armoury and asked one of two officers present to accompany him to enable access to the facility, as was usually required.

Sgt Duignan presented his access card to the armoury reader and it flashed amber to deny access, but as the system was "frequently unreliable and often failed", the accompanying officer believed that was the reason, the inquest heard.

The accompanying officer then placed her card on the reader, entered her Personal Identification Number (PIN), the door opened and she left Sgt Duignan.

The inquest heard Sgt Duignan sought access to the armoury via a pin number and key but was "thwarted" when other officers were present

After sending a suicide note to a close friend and colleague, officers discovered Sgt Duignan in the gym with a gunshot wound to the head. The police-issue weapon and bullets were found next to his body, the inquest heard.

In his report, Dr Cummings said he had concerns surrounding security at the armoury, particularly due to issues with the computerised system.

"The system as a whole repeatedly failed," he said.

Dr Cummings said that due to the system issues, an armoury override key was kept in a locked box, secured by a PIN, but the number was "common knowledge" among officers.

"Unfettered access to the armoury meant that rogue officers (of whom luckily there were none) could potentially have had access to weapons for the purposes of criminality, suicide (as in Sean's case) or homicide," he said.

'Paramount importance'

In a report issued to the Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police and His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), Dr Cummings said: "In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you (and/or your organisation) have the power to take such action."

A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: "The security around our firearms is of paramount importance and a number of changes in relation to access to the armoury were immediately put in place following Sean's death."

The spokesman added that the force had "taken on board findings from the inquest to make further recommended changes".

A spokeswoman for HMICFRS said: "We can confirm we have received correspondence from the assistant coroner regarding this tragic case. We are currently considering our response and will update the assistant coroner directly."

Both organisations have until 13 March to respond to the coroner.