Police worker gets final warning over handling of 999 call before four deaths

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

The four were all found inside a property in Allan Bedford Crescent in Costessey, Norfolk.
Post-mortem examinations recorded that all four died of neck wounds.
The deaths of the two girls and their aunt were being treated as murder, while the death of Mr Kuczynski was not being treated as suspicious.
Norfolk Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the killings.
Four people were found dead inside the property near Norwich (Joe Giddens/ PA)
The force had received a 999 call from Mr Kuzcynski on the morning of January 19 but officers were not deployed to the address until an hour later when police were called by a concerned dog walker, watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.
In an audio recording of the call, Mr Kuczynski said: 'I am walking with the knife, I have just lost the plot.'
Mr Kuczynski expressed concerns about his own mental state and said he was confused.
The call handler advised him to seek medical advice and police did not attend the property as a result of the call.
When questioned as part of the IOPC investigation, the call handler said he did not hear the word 'knife' and would have acted differently had he done so.
The call handler was initially suspended but returned to work following a review and was put on restricted duties.
Norfolk Police said on Friday that a member of staff had been given a final written warning following a misconduct investigation into the handling of the 999 call.
The force said in a statement: 'The IOPC investigation concluded the call handler had a case to answer for misconduct based on their handling of the call and failing to record their risk assessment in their decision-making.
'The force accepted this conclusion, and a misconduct meeting was held on June 26 2025 where the chair determined misconduct to be proven and issued a final written warning for 12 months.'
The misconduct meeting was not held in public.
Norfolk Police said that the worker remains employed by the force as a member of police staff, and is no longer on restricted duties.
A full inquest into the deaths is anticipated to take place in 2026 pending the completion of a Domestic Homicide Review.