The IOPC found the police constable had a case to answer for misconduct for failing to recognise Dhillon’s offence as stalking, rather than harassment. She detailed how on 30 September he had brought flowers and chocolates to her home, and left her a voicemail saying he did not want to kill her. On 2 October, a PC visited her home for two hours and took a statement in which she said she had told Dhillon she wanted no further contact with him, but that since then his actions had “scared and terrified” her. Ruggles made her first call to the police, via 101, at 12.40am on 1 October 2016, 11 days before her death, and reported a number of incidents of unwanted contact from Dhillon, including seeing him outside her flat in Gateshead. The IOPC also found evidence of unsatisfactory performance by another PC, who they said had “since received advice on how to deal with domestic incidents via a victim-focused rather than a victim-led approach”. “After Northumbria police agreed with our findings, both officers were dealt with via management action in the form of words of advice, and further training to develop their awareness when dealing with stalking and harassment,” said the watchdog. They also found a case to answer for misconduct for the police sergeant for not properly supervising the constable during the investigation. The report from the IOPC, published on Wednesday, found a case to answer for misconduct for a police constable for failing to appropriately investigate the report of Dhillon’s stalking. Last October, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation into the actions of Northumbria police ahead of Ruggles’ death. Ruggles had contacted police with concerns about Dhillon’s behaviour in the days before her death on 12 October 2016, but friends said she felt “palmed off” by officers.
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