Police officers charged over death of innocent man killed by vigilantes who thought he was a paedophile

Three police officers and a PCSO have been charged with offences linked to the murder of a man beaten and burned to death by neighbours who wrongly believed he was a paedophile.

PCs Kevin Duffy, Helen Harris and Leanne Winter of Avon and Somerset Police are accused of 'failing to respond to allegations and calls for help' by Bijan Ebrahimi.

PCSO Andrew Passmore is accused of lying about the contact he had with the murder victim.

It was also revealed today that a further 12 officers from the same force now face misconduct proceedings over claims Mr Ebrahimi had six years of contact with police before his murder.

Disabled Ebrahimi, a keen gardener, died after he was beaten, burned and left to die on a patch of grass near his home. The 44-year-old, originally from Iran, had taken photographs of youths vandalising his hanging baskets and intended to hand them to police as evidence.

But someone on his Bristol estate saw him with the camera and told police that he had taken pictures of children.

Instead of tackling the vandals officers took Mr Ebrahimi, originally from Iran, away for questioning, as other residents on his estate gathered in the street and chanted, 'Paedo, paedo'.

He was interviewed at a police station but officers soon realised he had been taking photographs only in an attempt to help catch the local yobs.

Two days after his release Mr Ebrahim's charred body was found burning in the road. Lee James, 24, admitted murder and Stephen Norley, 24, admitted assisting him.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission submitted a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service in October 2014 into how officers responded to events and contact from Mr Ebrahimi.

Today, the Crown Prosecution Service announced three police constables and a police community support officer will be charged with misconduct in a public office.

And it also emerged that Mr Ebrahimi's family said in a statement: 'We are relieved by this decision and trust the officers will now face the full rigour of the law'.

Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime at the CPS, said: 'PCs Kevin Duffy, Helen Harris and Leanne Winter, all of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, are to be charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly failing to respond to allegations and calls for help from Mr Ebrahimi.

'PCSO Andrew Passmore is to be charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly giving false information to the 999 operator that he was outside Mr Ebrahimi's home at an important time. He will also be charged with perverting the course of justice for allegedly giving different accounts to the police murder investigation and the IPCC investigation'.

All four will appear in court in January.

Mr Ebrahimi, had been attacked by Lee James, who lived in the same street in Brislington, Bristol.

During the fatal attack, father-of-four James, who believed his victim had been filming his children, repeatedly stamped on Mr Ebrahimi's head, telling him 'have some of that'.

Father-of-two Stephen Norley, who worked for a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, helped James drag Mr Ebrahimi's body from the scene of the attack and obtained white spirit to burn it.

James, was jailed for life after he admitted murder, and Norley, 24, denied murder but admitted assisting his friend, and was jailed for four years.

Speaking after the case, Mr Ebrahimi's sister Manizhah Moores said her brother suffered racial abuse while living in Bristol.

'We hope that nobody else ever has to witness an innocent disabled man being abused, taunted and tortured in the way that Bijan suffered,' Mrs Moores said.

After the hearing, Avon and Somerset Police spokesman Martin Dunscombe said Mr Ebrahimi was an innocent man.

Original report here

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