Police contact examined after domestic incident leads to woman’s death – Humberside Police, April 2023

A woman contacted the police to report shouting and a possible assault at her neighbour’s home. Two officers arrived and found a man and a woman at the property. The officers established there had been a physical domestic assault during which the man had strangled the woman at least four times.

The man threatened to kill the woman while officers were present. He was arrested and taken to custody.

The officers completed a risk assessment with the woman and offered her medical assistance, including offering to take her to hospital. The woman decided not to accept but said she would provide a statement.

Officers visited the woman’s home twice later that day and called her phone but there was no answer. They entered the woman’s home late in the afternoon and found her dead. The man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

We received a death or serious injury referral from the force and decided to independently investigate the nature and extent of police contact with the woman before her death.

We examined what the police did and the decisions they made after they received the domestic violence call, and whether these may have caused or contributed to the woman’s death. We did not investigate the woman’s death as that was a matter for the force and the coroner.

Our investigators obtained witness statements from the police officers involved, as well as police officers’ body worn camera footage. This evidence was analysed and compared against local and national policies, procedures and guidance. All officers were treated as witnesses and cooperated fully with this investigation.

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner to justify disciplinary proceedings.

We found that the police response was appropriate and in line with policy. Officers had no reason to suspect there was a medical emergency, and they demonstrated care and empathy towards the woman while completing a lengthy risk assessment. 

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

We did not identify any organisational learning in this case.