Watchdog investigates police over allegations

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Watchdog investigates police over allegations

THE actions of police officers in a case where a man from Tenbury

Wells died after receiving death threats from a man he had accused of

raping him are being investigated by a police watchdog.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is looking to see

whether West Mercia Constabulary handled a series of allegations made

by Palmer correctly before his body was discovered in an

alleyway in Tenbury Wells in May, 2006.

Twenty-one-year-old Mr Palmer suffered from a form of autism and

lived in Bromyard Road with his grandparents.

We previously reported in your Worcester News how, after two trials,

Ben , now aged 20, of Kyreside, Tenbury, was sentenced to four

years in jail after he was convicted of Mr Palmer's manslaughter in

December last year.

The IPCC is now looking into why officers arrested but did not

bring any charges against him after Mr Palmer contacted police about

an allegation of male rape in January, 2006.

The IPCC said West Mercia Constabulary had also received allegations

Mr Palmer had been harassed by and received threats to his life from

after the rape allegation and that the police had mishandled

and failed to respond adequately to the subsequent threats.

advertisementAs a result, West Mercia Constabulary referred the

matters to the IPCC.

Commissioner Crawley said: " We will be examining the actions

taken by West Mercia Constabulary police officers in respect of both

the rape investigation and at how any allegations of harassment

disclosed to the police were dealt with. The focus of our

investigation will be to ascertain whether the force's handling of

these matters met its obligations to safeguard life.

4:07pm today