Officers Disciplined Over Search Death

Eight police officers have been disciplined following a Police Ombudsman report into a man who was reported missing and was later struck and killed by a train.

29-year-old Jonathan Magee was killed when he walked in front of a train at Knockmore Bridge near Lisburn on Saturday 29 January 2011.

Mr Magee had a history of mental illness and, in the week leading up to his death, the PSNI had initiated a search for him after his family said they were concerned for his safety.

On a different occasion the police had found him and taken him to Whiteabbey Hospital. Later that day, he had been taken to Lagan Valley Hospital and transferred to the Mater Hospital, where he later discharged himself.

On the morning of Friday 28 January, the day before Mr Magee's death, his sister phoned police to say she was concerned for his safety as he was missing, suffered from depression and had tablets in his possession.

Police visited his sister, checked his home and the surrounding area and inquired with the Mater, the Lagan Valley, the Royal and the City hospitals.

But Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire said the police response to Jonathan’s disappearance was "inadequate, lacked communication between the officers involved and largely ignored the procedures in place for such issues."

Eight police officers – two Inspectors, three Sergeants, and three Constables – were disciplined.

"Although they were told Jonathan was at 'high risk and suicidal', it took police almost seven hours to formally make this assessment themselves and then having done so, they largely ignored it," Dr Maguire said.

"Minimal inquiries were conducted into Jonathan’s whereabouts in the last few hours of his life. A number of opportunities to find him and return him to the hospital were missed," said Dr Maguire.

At 14:28, the day before Mr Magee's death, he phoned police to say he was in Cavehill Park in Belfast, had taken an overdose and had cut his wrists.

Police went to the park, found him and arranged for an ambulance to take him to the City Hospital. Officers went to the hospital and stayed until they were told that medical staff planned to detain him. By 13:00 Mr Magee had still not been detained. Then at 13:13, police received a call from a nurse to say he had walked out of the hospital and was standing on the Donegall Road. She said she was concerned for his safety and asked police to come and pick him up.

The officer who took the call circulated Jonathan’s details to police personnel in the area, but did not link this to the previous incidents.

"This officer did not ask for even the most basic of details, such as Jonathan’s name, address and why he was being treated in hospital," the Ombudsman said. "Even this information alone would have allowed him to connect the call to the previous incidents and correctly identify Jonathan as a 'high risk' missing person and initiate an appropriate investigation.

"Procedures are that when someone is reported as missing police should assess the level of risk that person is to themselves or to others and take a series of actions accordingly. This did not happen."

At about 15:30, officers attending the City Hospital on another matter were approached by hospital staff concerned about Mr Magee. Staff told the officers that he was at "high risk and suicidal".

Police later visited several addresses but did not, according to the Ombudsman, check Jonathan’s home properly.

"They spent more than two hours waiting for the specially trained officers and equipment needed to force an entry into his home, only to find that the rear door to the property had been open all the time. This undoubtedly slowed things down during these crucial hours."

Shortly after 08:00 the following morning police connected the previous incidents that week concerning Mr Magee and he was recorded as a missing person. They visited a number of locations, checked with the City Hospital again and made at least five attempts to contact his mobile number.

At about 11:00, over nine hours after the initial phone call to police by the hospital nurse, police formally assessed and recorded Mr Magee as being at "high risk".

"Then, having made this assessment, they seemed to have largely ignored it. Under police procedure, officers should contact a Detective Inspector when they have been alerted to a ‘high risk’ missing person," the Ombudsman said. "That Inspector would then have responsibility for the investigation from that point onwards. That did not happen, nor did they start a proper missing person investigation."

At midday, police contacted Mr Magee on a mobile phone. Records show there was traffic noise in the background and that his words sounded slurred, as if he had taken alcohol or medication.

Mr Magee told officers he had walked to Bow Street Mall in Lisburn and was tired. He said he did not want to meet the police but suggested they phone him back at 18:00.

"The officer who took the call did not inform the Duty Inspector of its contents, which would have allowed him to make a fresh assessment of the situation," the Ombudsman said. "Instead, as a result of this phone call, police decided Jonathan was no longer at a 'high risk'. This was a mistake: a phone call was not sufficient grounds to make such a decision.

"Police did not use technology to try and establish an area where Jonathan’s phone had been or, now that he had indicated he was in the Lisburn area, conduct any further searches. The only other inquiries they made were to re-circulate his description, call at his mother’s address and recheck the home of one of his friends," said Dr Maguire.

At 17:17 police received a report that a man, subsequently confirmed to be Mr Magee, had been hit by a train at Knockmore, near Lisburn.

(IT/CD)