Family of Nottingham attacks victim call for senior police officers in charge of case to step down
Ian Coates's son James tells us a lot of the officers have "blood on their hands".
Last updated 26th Feb 2024
The son of Nottingham attacks victim Ian Coates is telling us the senior Nottinghamshire police officers involved in the case should step down.
James Coate's says "a lot of the officers have blood on their hands"
His calls come as an investigation found eleven members of staff viewed material relating to the case who did not have a legitimate reason to do so.
Eight members of staff were handed non-disciplinary performance interventions and three faced formal discipline.
Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane on June 13 2023.
One of the staff members was a special constable, who was sacked in December for viewing body cam footage of officers and paramedics assisting the victims.
James tells us: "There are a lot of officers not doing their job properly who should be held accountable."
"I feel Kate Meynell, the Chief Constable...she's the one in charge of everyone.
"She's the one now having to answer questions because there are problems within her force."
"She can't control her force. At the minute, I don't think she knows what she's doing and she can't do this job."
Speaking to reporters last week, Ms Meynell said: "This is one of the most brutal and horrific incidents we've seen here in Nottingham, in our history.
"There's lots of things I can't say. And that's not because I don't want to, it's because there's the ongoing reviews into what happened.
"There is another case coming up. This relates to the police staff member who we know has access to systems around the offender in this incident.
"This is ongoing, so I can't say much else. But there is no sharing of images in relation to this individual."
Ms Meynell said the force had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of the disciplinary procedures.
"I'm not going to try and pretend that I feel the same horror as the families," Ms Meynell said.
"But as chief constable, I do feel horror that some members of my staff have behaved in that way.
"That is why we have dealt with them swiftly."