The questions police still have to answer over death of huddersfield man

A coroner has asked West Yorkshire Police to explain how it deals with people in mental health crisis following the tragic death of much-loved Huddersfield man Paul Alexander. Assistant

coroner Peter Merchant concluded at an inquest that there was a missed opportunity to help Paul, 56, who had a long history of mental illness, after a member of the public phoned police

about his behaviour shortly before his death from cold-water immersion in the canal at Aspley Marina, Huddersfield, in February last year. The person who called police about Paul on February

4 was redirected to the ambulance service under the Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) protocol but the ambulance service did not attend as they did not have a location for Paul. The caller,

who was redirected back to police, became frustrated and terminated the call. No emergency services were dispatched which the coroner described as a 'missed opportunity'. The aim

of the Right Care, Right Person protocol is to reduce the need for police involvement in mental health crises and welfare checks - but the coroner says it was introduced "with little or

no consultation" in 2023. Mr Merchant has now drawn up a Prevention of Future Deaths report to express concerns to West Yorkshire Police about the way such welfare calls are dealt

with. The coroner said there appears to be a gap - or 'lacuna' - in how emergency services respond to such calls. In his report, which has been sent to West Yorkshire Chief

Constable Jon Robins, the coroner said: "In the course of the evidence, it became apparent the police had introduced RCRP in September 2023. RCRP is a police initiative arising out of a

national agreement but to be implemented by individual police forces. "Little or no consultation with other agencies had taken place prior to the implementation of RCRP in September

2023. Whilst I heard evidence that meetings with other agencies now do take place, the specifics of Paul’s case and the broader issues it raises have not been discussed nor is there any

understanding/agreement in place as to how such a situation would now be addressed. "As much as the court was advised was that if a similar situation arose today, there may be a

discussion between operational managers in the respective police and ambulance call centres, but that this would be reliant upon the matter being brought to the attention of those respective

managers by the call taker. He added: "The evidence from the RCRP lead at the ambulance service indicated the scenario that arose with Paul was not an isolated example. As such there

appears to be a lacuna in how emergency services will respond to such a situation when it was accepted this was a call expressing concern for Paul’s welfare." Mr Merchant has asked West

Yorkshire Police to respond to his concerns by July 18. In a statement, a Force spokesperson said: "West Yorkshire Police has received the Coroner’s Report to Prevent Future Deaths

relating to the death of Paul Alexander. We welcome the publication of this report and will now consider its findings in detail with a view to responding to the Coroner. "Our thoughts

remain with Paul’s family and friends at this time." A spokesman for Paul's family told _YORKSHIRELIVE_ that they were thankful to the coroner for his intervention. "The

family and friends of Paul Alexander would like to thank the coroner for supporting the family's request for further action involving the Right Care, Right Person policy. The coroner

clearly understood the importance of ensuring that this policy is looked at in detail and hopefully reconsidered in the light of Paul’s and apparently other deaths that have come on the back

of this ill-judged policing policy. "We also hope to receive a response from (Home Secretary) Yvette Cooper and the Health Secretary Wes Streeting who no doubt played some part in the

implementation and roll out of this policy. It is vital that we do all we can to remember Paul whose last opportunity to be helped by the West Yorkshire Police and the Yorkshire Ambulance

Service was missed by both! "Let us all remember that this was a tragedy for all who knew Paul, particularly David and Sarah Alexander, Paul’s parents, but it a tragedy for the Police

and Ambulance Services who ‘failed to serve’. Let’s learn from this so that it never happens again as one lost life is one too many. "Thank you to all those who have supported the

Alexander family since Paul’s death in February 2024, we are forever grateful." _GET ALL THE LATEST AND BREAKING HUDDERSFIELD NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX BY_ _ SIGNING UP TO OUR DAILY

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