Bijan Ebrahimi: Family of refugee murdered by vigilantes concerned police misconduct charges will be downgraded
Offcers face hearings for alleged gross misconduct after failing to protect Iranian wrongly accused of being a paedophile
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The family of a refugee murdered after police failed to protect him from a vigilante mob said they were concerned that disciplinary charges could be downgraded against some of the 18 officers accused of misconduct over the case.
Nine officers and staff from Avon and Somerset police face public hearings next year for alleged gross misconduct – which could result in their sacking – while nine others face misconduct charges after an investigation revealed widespread failings in how the force reacted to Bijan Ebrahimi’s pleas for help.
Mr Ebrahimi, 44, was murdered by a neighbour in 2013 who wrongly accused the Iranian national of being a paedophile. With the help with of another neighbour, Lee James set the body alight. It later emerged that Mr Ebrahimi called police for help 12 times in the hours before he was killed. James was later jailed for murder.
A community support officer and a police constable were found guilty of a criminal charge of misconduct in a public office on Monday after a seven-week trial in Bristol, while two other officers were cleared. The four are among the nine facing the most serious misconduct charges.
The two men found guilty of misconduct - PC Kevin Duffy, 52, and police community support officer Andrew Passmore, 56 - could be fast-tracked and dismissed after being found guilty, but the force declined to say if that would happen.
The family has called for their immediate dismissal. The family is concerned that the force is seeking to downgrade the charges against some of the officers, denying the disciplinary panel the right to remove them from the force.
"The Chief Constable has the power to dismiss the convicted officers from the Force with immediate effect. The family has called upon him to do so and received no response,” said Tony Murphy, of Bhatt Murphy solicitors, which is representing the family. “The Chief Constable's ongoing failure to remove these officers sends a worrying message to the public.
“The family is also concerned at recent proposals by the constabulary to downgrade aspects of the wider disciplinary process in this tragic case. The convictions underline the importance of the Chief Constable prosecuting the disciplinary process with rigour.”
The force said it was “keen to instigate the disciplinary proceedings at the earliest opportunity” but declined to comment on the fate of Duffy and Passmore.