PARAMEDICS spent 40 minutes trying to revive John “Goldfinger” Palmer without realising that the notorious criminal had been shot six times.
Documents released by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) under freedom of information rules reveal that Palmer, 64, who was cleared of involvement in the 1983 Brink’s-Mat gold bullion robbery but later convicted of fraud, was found “lying in his garden” at his home near Brentwood, Essex, by paramedics from the NHS East of England ambulance service who performed “CPR for a period of 40 minutes”.
The papers also show police took almost an hour to arrive at the scene despite a call to them being graded a “priority”. They “agreed with the paramedics the death was non-suspicious”.
The IPCC decided not to investigate the incident because “the officers were not aware of any real or immediate risk to Mr Palmer’s life and could not have prevented his death”.
The true cause of Palmer’s death, on June 24, emerged only after a post-mortem examination six days later.
Advertisement
It is thought Palmer may have been killed by a hitman using a gun with a silencer.
East of England ambulance service said it had “launched an internal investigation” but could not comment further.
Essex police said officers had met the one hour or less response time for priority graded calls but their actions were subject to an internal investigation.