Police sergeant ‘harsh’ but not a racist bully, inquest hears

A trainee police officer said he did not believe his sergeant was a bullying racist and thought he was struggling because he was not cut out to be a policeman, an inquest heard.

Anugrah Abraham, 21, from Bury, Greater Manchester, feared the sack and had suffered nightmares about his station sergeant sitting on his chest and strangling him, the inquest into his death at Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard.

His father claimed he suffered bullying and racism while a trainee at Halifax police station, which is not accepted by West Yorkshire Police (WYP).

On the fourth day of the inquest, the hearing was told “intelligent, polite and lovely” Mr Abraham was the type of person the police advertised that they wanted as new recruits.

But Mr Abraham said he had led a “sheltered” life and was not suitable for the “culture shock” of police work, which left him with stress and anxiety.

The inquest has heard Mr Abraham was struggling under the pressure of working full-time as a trainee Pc while also doing a degree apprenticeship at Leeds Trinity University.

While there were “no concerns” around his academic work, he had been put on a development programme for his practical competence as a police trainee.

Lyn Farrell, his university progress tutor, told the hearing about a Teams meeting with Mr Abraham, known as Anu, on January 19 last year, two months before his death, when he told her he no longer wanted to be a police officer.

Ms Farrell said: “He felt he was not the right type of person in a police officer role, to do with him having a sheltered upbringing.”

Mr Abraham told her that some of the things he had to deal with came as a shock and he had been “pulled up” about being “the last person out of the car” when called to incidents.

Ms Farrell said: “He was exactly the sort of officer was advertised that they wanted. He was articulate, intelligent, polite and lovely.”

She said her only fear was he would drop out of the course but as a progress tutor she only dealt with the academic work and she did not meet his police sergeant or day-to-day work colleagues and did not know he was on a development programme.

And she was not told Mr Abraham had been referred to his work’s occupational health after having thoughts of self-harm and suicide – which he had never mentioned to her.

“I’m astonished that has not been fed back to the university,” Ms Farrell, said, “That’s the first time I’m hearing that. That was never communicated to me.”

Mr Abraham was found dead in woodland near his home on March 4 last year, the same day he was due back in work after a two-week break.

Hugh Davies KC, representing WYP, cited a statement Ms Farrell made, where she details asking Mr Abraham directly if his sergeant was bullying him or racist.

Mr Abraham told her he did not think so, that his training style was “harsh” but he was the same with everybody.

Before the degree apprenticeship recruitment scheme, entry did not require a university qualification and police recruitment targeted people with experience and useful “life skills”, the inquest heard.

Currently there is a “massive problem” that many police officers are younger than historically and they are being managed by inexperienced officers, the hearing was told, with big increases in officers requesting welfare support and elevated drop-out rates among degree apprenticeship recruits.

The force has since massively cut the numbers recruited through the degree pathway.

The hearing continues.

– The Samaritans can be contacted on 116123 or email jo@samaritans.org.