Family of Hull woman who froze to death in cemetery receive police settlement
PCSOS SPENT NINE MINUTES SEARCHING FOR JACQUELINE PARSONS AND DIDN’T EVEN STEP FOOT OUT OF THEIR CAR
HUMBERSIDE Police has agreed a settlement with the family of a woman who died of hypothermia in a Hull cemetery after PCSOS searched for her for less than ten minutes.
The officers tasked with searching for Jacqueline Parsons didn’t even step foot outside of their car to look for her at Western Cemetery in October 2018. Miss Parsons’ siblings and her partner pursued a civil claim against Humberside Police through Hudgell Solicitors, alleging that failures had amounted to a breach of the force’s duty of care to protect the right to life.
Miss Parsons’ brother, Stephen, 64, said he’d been left angry at the “basic failings” and had taken legal action to ensure lessons were learned. The pay-out agreed has not been disclosed.
“Still to this day I can’t come to terms with the fact that Jacqueline would still be here if the police had just done their jobs and done a proper search of the area,” he said.
“If they’d just got out of their car and walked around it is likely she’d have been found. I remember it was a cold and wet day and I have always wondered how much that influenced what happened.”
The force was called to provide assistance to Jacqueline, 56, by a passer-by in October 2018 after he’d found her injured in the cemetery, having fallen from her bike.
The man returned home to call the police as he didn’t have a mobile with him and was worried she’d be locked in the cemetery all night. Following his call, at approximately 4.45pm, the matter was marked as “urgent” on the police log.
This comes with an expectation that a patrol will arrive within 30 minutes, but it was not until around 6.20pm that two PCSOS were asked by a dispatcher to attend and assist a woman described as “under the influence”. The dispatcher said that only a “quick area search” was required given the time which had passed since the initial call without any further reports.
An inquest into Miss Parsons’ death in October 2020 heard that PCSOS arrived at the cemetery at around 6.25pm and that their search consisted of them driving slowly with their car windows down to scan the land adjacent to the main cemetery road which looped around.
Neither were trained in search techniques and their torches were only standard police-issued torches and not powerful in comparison to dedicated lighting systems marked police vehicles are equipped with. At no point did either PCSO leave the police vehicle to search the grounds and the log was closed at 6.36pm.
The following morning Jacqueline was found dead in the cemetery by a member of the public at around 9.15am – almost 17 hours after the initial report to the police had been made. A pathologist testified that if she had been found in time after the alarm was sounded, her temperature could have been raised and she could have been saved.
“To think of her left there alone is heart-breaking,” Stephen said. “I think from the moment the call was logged, and she was described as being intoxicated, there was a dismissive approach from all involved. The alcohol levels suggest she wasn’t excessively drunk as she was only just over the legal drink-drive limit.
“The references to her being intoxicated annoyed those close to us. She would not have been drunk. She was someone who was always well dressed and had an immaculate home.
“To not get out of the car and to leave after around ten minutes, having simply driven round and shone a couple of torches, was appalling. I had to take legal action as when things like this happen, changes need to be made to ensure it never happens again. Hopefully people who have gone missing since have been afforded a bit more commitment.”
Adam Biglin, of the Civil Liberties department at Hudgell Solicitors, led the legal cases and claims the attempts to look for Jacqueline were “insulting”.
He said: “This was a wholly inadequate search in terms of both approach and attitude. I think if anyone was to have a loved one go missing at any stage they’d believe a search of this nature to be insulting.
“The police failed to do their job of investigating and instead made a number of assumptions. These assumptions, and failings to follow proper procedures, proved fatal.
“The method of searching was not to the proper standard. At no point did the officers leave their police vehicle and they used torches that were not powerful enough to carry out a proper search. Nor did they make any attempt to check that Jacqueline had retuned home safe, given that they had been provided with her name and address by the man who called to report that she needed help.
“It has been heart-breaking for her loved ones to know that she was left to die alone when she could so easily have been found and saved. We are pleased that Humberside Police agreed to settle the civil action pursued on behalf of those who have lost Jacqueline from their lives.”
The inquest heard that the freezing temperatures overnight on Saturday, October 28, 2018, combined with alcohol in her system - which at 93mg per 100ml of blood was only just over the legal drink driving limit of 80mg per 100ml - and the injury to her ankle, were deemed as the cause of death.
During the inquest Humberside Police said that the PCSOS who attended “did their very best” during the search and that new policies have now been implemented.
After agreeing the settlement Deputy Chief Constable Paul Anderson said: “Jacqueline Parson’s death was a terribly tragic incident and our thoughts and condolences remain with her family and loved ones.
“We have agreed a settlement with the family following a claim that was received on conclusion of the inquest in 2020, as we fully acknowledged the decision reached by the Coroner.
“Following Jacqueline’s death in October 2018 we immediately and voluntarily referred the incident to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) due to our involvement. They asked us to carry out a full and thorough review and identify any learning, which was completed and guidance provided to those involved at the time.
“On conclusion of the inquest we further looked at lessons to be learned and have already implemented additional training for officers and staff to prevent any unnecessary distress or worry and to assist should there ever be this type of incident across our force area again.”