Father's plea to section ex-soldier not logged, inquest hears

Spencer Beynon's father called 999 on the morning of his son's death, saying he had gone "absolutely insane"

A father's plea in a 999 call for his son to be sectioned was not passed to police, an inquest has heard.

In June 2016, Platoon Sgt Spencer Beynon, 43, from Llanelli, was hit by a Taser fired by officers called over concerns about his behaviour.

He had been medically discharged from the Army with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after tours of Afghanistan and Iraq.

An inquest into his death is taking place in Llanelli.

• Ex-soldier harassed by police, inquest told

Mr Beynon's father Christopher Beynon phoned Dyfed-Powys Police on the morning of his death, saying his son had gone "absolutely insane", the inquest heard.

He told the call handler his son had "PTSD compounded by constant use of cannabis" and should be "sectioned".

However, the call handler did not relay that information to the police, and categorised the report as low priority and drugs-related because Mr Beynon was said to be in possession of cannabis.

Mr Beynon died near his home in Llanelli after a neighbour phoned the police

During the call, a transcript of which was read to the jury, Christopher Beynon described how he had found his son "shouting at the top of his voice, 'I love you, I love you, I'm going to make you proud'".

He also said his son had tried to exorcise the devil from him, claiming to be a Buddhist monk and that he saw his "mood change, and a blackness come over him".

Based on the information that was recorded in the log, officers at Llanelli Police Station chose to take no further action, the inquest was told.

Asked if a different decision should have been taken that day, Sgt Dylan Davies, who was on duty that morning, said: "No, not based on the intelligence we had."

But he later admitted that had he been aware of all of what Christopher Beynon had told the call handler, he would have sent officers to visit the father.

The court heard how previous calls made by the family about Spencer Beynon's mental health had resulted in armed police officers being called and him being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Later on the day of his death, 14 June 2016, the force responded to a report from a neighbour concerned about a man walking down a road barefoot holding a cannabis pipe.

Witnesses at the time claimed they saw Mr Beynon stab his dog and then himself.

Officers found him in Maes y Bwlch, an estate near his home, with a neck wound.

He later collapsed after being hit with a Taser, with officers claiming they had deployed the weapon after he had shown "aggression" towards them.

Police have previously denied the Taser killed Mr Beynon.

The inquest continues.