Trainee Police Officer who Committed Suicide was ‘Set Up to Fail’

The family of a trainee police officer who took his own life after struggling with his training believe he was “set up to fail”.

Trainee Police Officer who Committed Suicide was 'Set Up to Fail' f

"Anu was set up to fail."

An aspiring police officer took his own life after struggling with his training, with his family believing he was “set up to fail”.

Anugrah Abraham was training to become an officer with West Yorkshire Police in Halifax when he was found dead in woodland in March 2023.

According to his family, the 21-year-old, who was known as Anu, was bullied and suffered racism. But this was disputed by the force.

Concluding the inquest at Rochdale Coroner’s Court, senior coroner for Manchester North, Joanne Kearsley, ruled he died from suicide.

His family said he was “kind, gentle and funny”, adding they disagreed with the ruling that Mr Abraham’s death was not preventable.

In her ruling, Ms Kearsley said: “There is no evidence that any steps should have been taken which would, on the balance of probabilities, have made a difference to the tragic outcome.”

In a statement on the family’s behalf, his sister Elisheba Abraham said:

“Anu was set up to fail.

“He never had sufficient support, particularly after he told his superiors that he was considering ending his own life.

“We cannot fathom how and why the coroner has come to that conclusion.

“Sadly, it is too late for Anu and for our family.”

Mr Abraham began a Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) which combined studying at Leeds Trinity University and on-the-job training in October 2021.

But Mr Abraham began having problems after April 2022 when he was posted to Halifax Police Station.

The inquest heard that the trainee officer had struggled with mental health issues, but had not told his family the extent of them and felt he did not want to let them down.

After complaints about Mr Abraham from another department, he had a meeting with his district line manager who told him she thought he was “massively struggling with the role”.

After returning from a holiday with friends, Mr Abraham left his home address and was reported missing at 10:50 pm.

He was found dead the next day.

Ms Kearsley said the thought of returning to work “was likely to have been a source of distress” to Mr Abraham.

She added she would be preparing a prevention of future deaths report to send to the National Police Chiefs’ Council about the challenges in addressing mental health in policing.

Following Ms Kearsley’s ruling, West Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Damien Miller said the force “fully respects these findings, and they will be reviewed in greater detail by the force to establish areas of future improvement”.

He added: “My thoughts are with both Anu’s family and his many friends and colleagues within and beyond policing.

“He was universally popular, and his loss is a continuing one felt by many.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it had investigated the events leading up to Mr Abraham’s death but said it did not find any evidence to support the claim.

In a statement, they said: “The evidence did not indicate that PC Abraham was subjected to bullying while at work.

“We did identify a small number of incidents where we have advised individuals involved would benefit from reflection on how their actions may be perceived by others.

“However, these did not suggest that PC Abraham was treated less favourably than others in his team.”

Lead Editor Dhiren is our news and content editor who loves all things football. He also has a passion for gaming and watching films. His motto is to "Live life one day at a time".



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