Disciplinary over 999 call before man killed family

An emergency call handler will face a misconduct meeting after a man phoned 999 then killed three family members, police said.

An inquest heard Bartlomiej Kuczynski, 45, warned he "had a knife and had lost the plot" before his body and those of his sister-in-law and his daughters, aged 12 and eight, were found at their home in Costessey near Norwich on 19 January last year.

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded a call handler had "a case to answer for misconduct" in relation to the emergency call.

Norfolk Police said the staff member would have acted differently had he heard the word knife, and confirmed a misconduct meeting would be arranged.

The inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court was adjourned while awaiting the outcome of a domestic homicide review.

The court was also told there was "miscommunication" and "missed opportunities" when Mr Kuczynski spoke with his local GP practice a month beforehand.

As previously reported by the BBC, Mr Kuczynski called 999 from the family home in Allan Bedford Crescent shortly before 06:00 GMT that day, but was directed to NHS 111.

Area coroner Yvonne Blake said that when Mr Kuczynski called 999, he said he "had a knife and had lost the plot".

The pre-inquest review hearing was told the call handler had been trained on a new framework for dealing with mental health patients, called Right Care, Right Person.

This approach involves calls being directed to health agencies rather than police.

But Andrew Waters, the legal representative for Norfolk's chief constable, said that this framework was not policy at the time of the call.

At 07:15 GMT, Norfolk Police attended the scene after receiving a call from a concerned member of the public, and officers discovered the bodies.

An IOPC spokesperson said: "We determined there was an indication that a member of staff from Norfolk Police had a case to answer for misconduct in relation to the handling of a 999 call from Mr Kuczynski.

"They should face a misconduct meeting, to be organised by the force."

Misconduct meetings are not held publicly, and Norfolk Police said they could result in "advice, a written warning, or a final written warning."

The member of staff was previously suspended following a gross misconduct notice but returned to work in January.

The force added the staff member had been updated on the IOPC outcome.

Mr Waters told the court there was miscommunication and missed opportunities involving Mr Kuczynski's GP practice in the December.

Roundwell Medical Centre in Costessey was made an interested person in the inquest, meaning it has the right to participate in proceedings.

"We are currently unable to comment while this inquest is ongoing," said a spokesperson for the NHS practice.

Police have been treating Mr Kuczynski's death as not suspicious, but the other three were treated as murder.

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