'Serious, systemic failure' to arrest Nottingham attacks killer on warrant

A significant delay in executing an arrest warrant for Valdo Calocane, who later killed three individuals, has been described by a police chief as a “serious, systemic and operational failure.” Calocane fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley Kumar, and Ian Coates in Nottingham on June 13, 2023, and injured three others in the attack. Despite a warrant being issued for his arrest months earlier, police did not carry it out promptly.

Calocane had been summoned to appear in Nottingham Magistrates’ Court in September 2022 following an accusation of assaulting a police officer in 2021. After missing the court date, the warrant for his arrest was issued but was classified as a “low priority.” Inquiry counsel Rachel Langdale KC shared that Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin characterized this delay as a profound operational failure on the part of Nottinghamshire Police.

Interestingly, about a month before the attack, while the warrant was still active, Calocane was alleged to have assaulted two coworkers at a factory in Kegworth, Leicestershire. However, despite this, he was not arrested at the time but was instead escorted off the site by security personnel. At the inquiry, representatives of Nottinghamshire Police acknowledged that the warrant should have been executed in a more timely manner but suggested it was unlikely that Calocane would have been successfully prosecuted and imprisoned due to his mental health issues.

Representing the families of the victims, Tim Moloney KC strongly rejected any suggestion that executing the warrant would have made no difference. He said: “Any attempt by the police to say arresting him would have made no difference to what was to happen on June 13 2023, sheltering behind some notion that he may not have been convicted and may not have received a custodial sentence, would be cowardly, highly offensive and insulting to the intelligence of the brave families.” Moloney emphasized the risks to public safety if police continue to downplay the significance of their failure to act sooner. The inquiry into the attacks is ongoing and will hear further testimonies over the coming weeks

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More