Call handler to face hearing after dad’s death during flood
APOLICE call handler will face misconduct proceedings following an investigation into the death of a pensioner whose car became stuck in flood waters during Storm Angus.
Russell Sherwood was reported missing after he failed to arrive to collect his wife Elizabeth, a cancer nurse, from her night shift at 7am on November 20, 2016.
The 69-year-old from Neath was found dead on November 23 inside his car which had become submerged in the River Ogmore near Bridgend.
An inquest into his death heard there had been a delay closing the road following an incident about an hour earlier when another motorist was trapped.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said yesterday it had completed its investigation into South Wales Police’s response to the earlier report and whether call handlers properly risk assessed the information provided to them.
The IPCC said its investigator thought one call handler has a case to answer for misconduct in relation to how he handled the initial flooding report and would face a misconduct meeting to be organised by the force.
South Wales Police had also decided that a second call handler should be dealt with in accordance with police staff performance procedures, the IPCC said.
The inquest heard motorist Stephen Evans’ car became trapped in flood waters when he tried to cross the Dipping Bridge on New Inn Road – shortly before Mr Sherwood would have tried to cross it.
Mr Evans called the fire service at 5.27am and by 6.06am, he had been rescued and the incident closed.
The inquest heard it was not fire service protocol to close the road, the Highways Agency had been informed twice and the firefighters had left the scene after rescuing Mr Evans.
Rafael Combarro, the Bridgend superintendent for the Highways Agency, told the inquest the early hours of November 20 had been busy for the agency and he had he finished dealing with another incident before going to close the road at the bridge by around 7am.
Mr Sherwood was last spotted on police cameras at 6.51am.
Coroner Philip Spinney recorded a narrative conclusion and said he was concerned that the fire service left the road after rescuing Mr Evans, without waiting for the Highways Agency to close it, leaving it with no warning for other motorists.
After the hearing, Mr Sherwood’s son, Neil said: “If they closed the road, my mother would not be without her husband and we would not be without a father.”
The IPCC said South Wales Police call handlers would now receive more training on adverse weather incidents and recommended that the force shared its contingency plan for responding to flooding more widely in the control room so that call handlers know how to deal with serious weather incidents.
IPCC operations manager Melanie Palmer said: “No-one could have foreseen the tragic death of Mr Sherwood and my thoughts remain with his family and all those affected.
“After we shared our findings with the force, they have agreed to take steps to amend and improve their adverse weather action plans for control room staff.”