Three Bristol police offers have denied charges of misconduct in the case of a disabled man murdered in June 2013. Bijan Ebrahimi, 44, was beaten to death and his body burned by Lee James in Brislington, Bristol. James falsely believed his neighbour was a paedophile.
The four police officers, three constables and one community support officer, were present at Bristol crown court following allegations of misconduct in public office. The charges come as a result of an investigation into Avon and Somerset police by the Independent Police Complaints Commission following Ebrahimi’s murder.
Police constables Helen Harris, 40, Leanne Winter, 37 and police community support officer Andrew Passmore, 55, all denied the charges. Passmore is alleged to have given different accounts of his dealings with Ebrahimi to police personnel, the Bristol police murder inquiry and the IPCC.
A fourth officer, Kevin Duffy, 51, did not enter a plea on a charge of misconduct in public office.
Misconduct in public office can carry sentences of up to life imprisonment, depending on the scope and seriousness of the offences.
The officers face criminal charges of misconduct in public office after allegedly failing to respond to calls for help from Ebrahimi, giving false information to 999 emergency staff and presenting different accounts of the murder to the police investigation and to the IPCC. Ebrahimi had repeatedly complained to police about abuse from neighbours. The charges against the four officers relate to offences in the days leading up to his murder.
The IPPC report from December 2014 also found cases of misconduct of 13 other police officers and staff. Future misconduct hearings will be arranged by Avon and Somerset police.
Lee James was jailed for life for Ebrahimi’s murder on 14 June 2013. Stephen Norley, an accomplice, was imprisoned for four years for assisting an offender. During the attack, James, who believed Ebrahimi had been filming his children, repeatedly stamped on his victim’s head. Norley helped James drag the body from the scene of the crime and burned it with white spirit.
Ebrahimi suffered multiple blows to the face and head causing his death. Ebrahimi, an Iranian national, suffered from a severe back condition which caused him to register as disabled. He suffered repeated incidents of racial abuse in the time leading up to his death. In the months after his murder, organisations for the disabled spoke out against such incidents of violence which target disabled people.
The four police officers were granted bail in Bristol crown court by Judge Mark Horton. The trial is expected to start in November.
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