Mum of Nottingham attacks urges police to ‘pause and reflect’
By Samantha Noble & Olimpia Zagnat
BBC News, East Midlands
The mother of Nottingham attacks victim Barnaby Webber has written an open letter criticising Nottinghamshire Police after one of its officers wrote a graphic post about the killings.
Emma Webber told the BBC the content of a message shared on a force WhatsApp group was “abhorrent”.
Mr Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates were stabbed to death on 13 June 2023.
Nottinghamshire Police said it would be “inappropriate” to comment.
Valdo Calocane, 32, carried out the stabbings with a dagger in Nottingham, and attempted to kill three others.
In January, he was given an indefinite hospital order for manslaughter by diminished responsibility, after Nottingham Crown Court heard he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
On Friday, the victims’ families were told a sentence review hearing had been set for 8 May.
Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar died at the scene of the attacks
Mrs Webber said she had been denied “repeated requests” to address the members of the WhatsApp group “privately and anonymously”, so instead wrote an open letter in The Times as a way to reach the police staff members involved.
In the letter, she addressed several graphic messages she said were posted in the group.
The “callous, degrading and desensitised manner” of the comments in the WhatsApp group has caused “more trauma than you can imagine”, she said.
“When you say ‘a couple of students have been proper butchered’, did you stop to think about the absolute terror that they felt in the moment when they were ambushed and repeatedly stabbed by a man who had planned his attack and lay waiting in the shadows for them?
“Did you relate the excited urgency in your message of spreading ‘big news’ and preparing for a busy shift that countless lives had been destroyed forever,” she said.
You can watch the full story of the Nottingham Attacks on BBC iPlayer (UK Only).
Speaking directly to the author of the message, she added: “I pray you will read this and pause for a while. Dig a little deeper for compassion and care. Show the respect in the future that you did not afford Barney.
“My aim is not to cause undue shame, or to have anyone publicly vilified; there’s no need to add yet more pain; I just hope that by reaching out to educate and explain, my voice might make a difference.
“If you feel able and wish to make contact, know that you can and it will be kept fully private. I have written this open letter only because of the actions of your Chief Constable [Kate Meynell] and her senior leadership team.”
Following the letter’s publication, Mrs Webber told BBC Radio 5 Live she had found the message “abhorrent”, adding “when you lose your humanity and your respect for life, I don’t think you should be working in those services”.
She said she had been told the person who wrote message had a “management intervention”, but she did not think that was “enough” nor “appropriate”.
“This is a group of officers, a shift group on WhatsApp,” she said. “Of course, information is going to be shared. Of course, it’s traumatic for anyone involved, and I respect that wholly.
“However, there’s a right and a wrong in how we conduct ourselves as human beings and that type of language, particularly used against, in this instance, my son, and I’m speaking on behalf of Barney because he can’t speak any more.”
Image source, PA Media
Dr Sanjoy Kumar says he has “tears in my eyes every time the message echoes in my head”
Dr Sanjoy Kumar, Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s father, said he was “appalled and disgusted” at the message.
“I had to ask Kate Meynell for the entirety of the message myself by email,” he said. “I had also asked how many officers were in the WhatsApp group. This remained unanswered by [Chief Constable Kate Meynell]. “The message is so disgusting and shows there is no humanity left.
“Would anyone with a child, a mother, a relative, use words like that? Why have police in Notts forgotten that these are our dear and beloved children they are referring to?
“I have tears in my eyes every time the message echoes in my head. The message is as barbaric as the crime for me. I’m so, so disappointed.”
Image source, Nottinghamshire Police
Valdo Calocane received a hospital order for the killings
Nottinghamshire Police is being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of the attacks, and there is also a review by the College of Policing.
The Times also reported officers being disciplined behind closed doors in relation to the case.
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Police told The Times: “A member of police staff has been dismissed following a gross misconduct hearing on 5 April for the misuse of force systems and breaching data protection by accessing information relating to recent homicide investigations.
“The investigation showed that the police staff member used police systems to research the offender, Valdo Calocane.
“There was no evidence that she viewed bodyworn video or CCTV in relation to the case.”
The force later told the BBC: “It would be inappropriate to comment further due to the ongoing independent investigation by the IOPC, and the review by the College of Policing.”
In February, PC Matthew Gell received a final written warning for sharing information about the case in a text message, while another officer received management intervention in relation to the message, which was described as “crude and distasteful”.
A special constable was dismissed for viewing footage showing the aftermath of the attacks.
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