Three cops probed over inquiries into Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane a month before he slaughtered 3 in knife rampage
THREE cops are under investigation over how they dealt with alleged assaults by Valdo Calocane the month before he slaughtered three people in Nottingham.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said two constables and a sergeant from Leicestershire Police have been told they are being investigated over how inquiries were progressed.
It is claimed that Calocane assaulted two colleagues at an industrial estate in Kegworth, Leicester, in May last year.
The following month, he went on to kill students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, along with caretaker Ian Coates, in a knife rampage in Nottingham.
The 32-year-old paranoid schizophrenic was given an indefinite hospital order earlier this year.
The IOPC said in a statement: "We have advised three Leicestershire Police officers, two police constables and a sergeant, that they are under investigation for potential misconduct over how enquiries were progressed.
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"Decisions on whether any officers have a disciplinary case to answer will be taken on completion of the investigation."
The IOPC said all Nottinghamshire Police officers are currently being treated as witnesses, meaning there is no indication of any wrongdoing at this stage.
Separately, the watchdog is also examining a number of complaints made by the Nottingham victims' families.
Investigators are looking at what information was available to police about Calocane before the killings on June 13 2023.
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They are also examining:
• Nottinghamshire Police's decisions and actions relating to Calocane between September 2021 and 13 June last year
• How the force informed the families of the death of their loved ones and the support they put in place for them;
• Whether senior officers followed relevant policies and procedures in their oversight of officers investigating the events of 13 June and subsequent events - including communications with the family and public over the handling of inappropriate WhatsApp messaging and potential sharing of information about the case.
Calocane was locked up in a high-security hospital in January after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Prosecutors dropped murder charges due to his mental state.
The attacker's guilty pleas were accepted after medical evidence showed he has paranoid schizophrenia.
The judge at his sentencing said he would be detained at a high-security hospital "very probably" for the rest of his life.
Attorney General Victoria Prentis referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal in February, arguing it was "unduly lenient".
At a hearing in May lawyers said Calocane should instead be given a "hybrid" life sentence, where he would first be treated for his paranoid schizophrenia before serving the remainder of his jail term in prison.
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However, the appeal claiming the hospital sentence was too lenient was rejected by judges.
The Ministry of Justice previously said his crown court legal aid bill has reached £28,248, made up of £13,274 for solicitors and £14,973 barristers.