Police could have prevented death, inquest hears

A vulnerable man's death could have been avoided had police reacted appropriately, an inquest has ruled.

Lachlan Campbell, 51, from St Austell, was left lying outside St Erth railway station through the night in heavy rain by two police officers, the four-day hearing in Truro was told.

The Devon and Cornwall Police officers, PC David Bishop and PC Daniel Baber, sat in their car just a few feet from the stricken Mr Campbell on 1 November 2022, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The inquest ruled that Mr Campbell's death was "drug related combined with neglect". The police officers are no longer serving.

Mr Campbell died from bronchopneumonia, hypothermia and combined drug intoxication.

Assistant chief constable Jim Pearce said: "We fully accept the findings of the inquest into the death of Lachlan Campbell and our thoughts remain with Mr Campbell's friends and family."

The two officers initially called for an ambulance to go to Mr Campbell at 01:42 GMT before leaving the scene to go to a high-risk domestic incident in Hayle.

They spent time looking for a known suspect on a night when there were only four PCs on duty in that part of West Cornwall, the inquest heard.

Mr Campbell was left on his own due to ambulance handover delays at the Royal Cornwall Hospital and other incidents which led to a four-and-a-half hour delay.

When the officers returned to the scene at 05:00 GMT, the jury said the two officers should have taken Mr Campbell to hospital in their patrol car.

They also criticised the former officers for failing to provide Mr Campbell with "appropriate shelter, warmth or medical attention" and branded these "serious failings".

Had action been taken in a timely manner, Mr Campbell's life could have been saved, the inquest heard.

Mr Campbell's mother told the inquest that her son "should not have been left outside for so many hours".

She accused the police of neglect and discriminating against her son because he was a drug user.

"He was not deemed important enough by the police to save his life," she said.

Speaking on behalf of Devon and Cornwall Police, Mr Pearce said: "We have considered the recommendations made by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and will also now carefully consider the findings of the coroner so we can implement any further changes of procedure and learning into the force.

"Following this incident, a gross misconduct panel was held in October 2024 and all allegations of gross misconduct were upheld by the panel."

He added that Mr Baber had resigned but the panel determined that had he still been a police officer then he would have been dismissed from the force without notice.

Mr Pearce said Mr Bishop had still been a serving police officer at the time of the hearing but was dismissed from the force without notice.

"Both individuals have been placed on the barred list that is administered by the College of Policing," said Mr Pearce.

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