Police errors on dead man
Basic mistakes were made by police dealing with a Shropshire man with early stage dementia whose body was later found in a field, a watchdog has concluded.Basic mistakes were made by police dealing with a Shropshire man with early stage dementia whose body was later found in a field, a watchdog has concluded. Hipolit Konrad Legowski, 87, was found dead next to his car near Hartland, in Devon, on July 30, 2008, two days after he had been stopped by police for erratic driving. The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which carried out an investigation into the incident, said that police should have helped more. Read the full story in the Shropshire Star
Basic mistakes were made by police dealing with a Shropshire man with early stage dementia whose body was later found in a field, a watchdog has concluded.
Hipolit Konrad Legowski, 87, was found dead next to his car near Hartland, in Devon, on July 30, 2008, two days after he had been stopped by police for erratic driving.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which carried out an investigation into the incident, said that police should have helped more.
Mr Legowski, of Shifnal, was last seen by a family member in the afternoon of July 27 driving his Ford Fiesta towards Wolverhampton.
He was stopped by an off-duty policewoman in Devon just before midnight who saw his car swerving and suspected he might be drunk. She called for back-up from two other officers who concluded Mr Legowski had been driving for a long time and may have had a medical condition.
They called an ambulance and were advised by the paramedic there was "nothing medically wrong with him", IPCC investigators were told.
As the officers were still concerned for his welfare they took him to Barnstaple police station under the Mental Health Act.
Rebecca Marsh, IPCC Commissioner for the South West, praised the officers for their efforts but said that after he was taken to the police station more should have been done to help him get home safely.
A police doctor said he could not be held under the Mental Health Act, but he feared he would get lost if they let him go. Officers tried to persuade him to book into a hotel but he insisted he was only 30 minutes from his house, the IPCC said.
They decided to direct him to the motorway and escort him part of the way.
He was reported missing the next day and his body was found in a field on July 30.
Miss Marsh said officers should have made more effort to find a social worker and she believed "basic inquiries" would have identified his family.
Devon and Cornwall Police said it "fully accepted" the findings of the report and had implemented plans with health care trusts to provide a safe place for people in similar circumstances to be accommodated.
By Simon Hardy
