Policing culture based on “fear and discipline” must end, said the family of a police trainee who killed himself, as a coroner advised forces to do more to tackle the rise in mental health issues among officers.
No steps could have been taken to prevent the death of Anugrah Abraham, a 21-year-old West Yorkshire police student, the three-week inquest into his death found.
However, forces should take note of opportunities to stop young officers suffering a similar fate, said the senior coroner for Greater Manchester North, Joanne Kearsley, adding that she would be issuing a UK-wide prevention of future deaths report to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Abraham, known as Anu, killed himself on 3 March 2023 after telling friends and colleagues he wanted to quit a policing degree programme at Leeds Trinity University, having struggled with his workload, been put into tough situations and feeling bullied and belittled by senior officers.
In a statement read after the inquest by his sister, Elisheba Abraham, his family said: “We have heard how he was given ‘bollockings’ that were witnessed by his whole team.
“Policing culture based on fear and discipline is not the answer. A modern, supportive police force must welcome officers like Anu, who had so much to give. Bollocking is bullying.”
She added that police sergeants found her brother “an easy target who didn’t answer back and whose gentle nature was taken for submissiveness”.
She said: “My beautiful, generous, and happy brother is missed every single day. We have lost a son, a brother, a friend. We thank everyone who has supported us throughout this time including family, friends, and kind-hearted strangers who continue to believe that Anu is worth fighting for.”
The family disagreed with the coroner that his death was not preventable. “Anu was set up to fail,” she added.
His father, Amar Abraham, had previously given evidence to the inquest that his son “was under a lot of pressure and fearful” after being put on a development plan.
While the coroner stopped short of finding bullying and racism at West Yorkshire police, she described one supervisor as having a “disciplinarian style”, while she said an email sent to Abraham by another supervisor, after a meeting about his performance during which he disclosed he was feeling suicidal, “does more to reflect the frustration felt towards Anu than it does to reflect care”.
Kearsley also said the triaging of Abraham’s case was “flawed” after he had disclosed the suicidal thoughts and that he should have been offered an urgent face-to-face appointment with the force’s occupational health unit. But no organisation or person, including his doctor, friends and family members, had a full picture of what Abraham was going through.
She said: “I’m sure Anu’s family would agree that it is appropriate to remind all young men who may be struggling that there are places to access, such as Andy’s Man Club, and it is vitally important for them to feel able to talk.”
Recording a verdict of suicide, Kearsley said: “There is no evidence that any steps should have been taken which would on the balance of probabilites have made a difference to the tragic outcome.”
