Killer headbutted and punched police officer

Valdo Calocane headbutted and punched a police officer who was helping doctors detain him two years before he carried out deadly attacks in Nottingham, a public inquiry has heard.

Calocane killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, and seriously injured three others on 13 June 2023.

The attacks are the subject of an inquiry which, on Wednesday, was shown body-worn camera footage of the moment Calocane began punching PC Barnaby Pritchard while a warrant to detain him under the Mental Health Act was carried out in September 2021.

After being restrained, tasered and handcuffed, Calocane could be heard on the footage telling Pritchard "you did good" and "you didn't go down".

The Nottingham Inquiry started hearing evidence in February into the events that led up to the attacks in the city in 2023.

So far, former neighbours of Calocane, the University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Police have given evidence.

More than 100 witnesses are expected to give evidence over the next eight weeks.

The inquiry heard police were called to carry out a Section 135 warrant under the Mental Health Act on 3 September 2021.

Under a Section 135 warrant, police have powers to enter a private home, by force if necessary, and take a person to a place of safety to allow an assessment to be carried out.

The inquiry heard officers attended Calocane's home to assist medical professionals who were already there, as he was refusing to go with them.

In the body-worn camera footage, Calocane was heard saying he did not need to be assessed because there was nothing wrong with him.

He was also heard saying: "Listen, I don't have a history of mistreating women. Gentlemen if you want to take me out, I prefer you do it."

Giving evidence, Pritchard said he interpreted that comment to mean Calocane preferred for him to take him out of the property rather than any of the three female officers who were also in attendance.

The inquiry heard officers had followed Calocane into a bedroom, believing he might barricade himself in.

One of the officers, PC Rachel Wakefield, tried to reason with him to go with the doctors and Sgt Louise Ellis - who was also present - said she took hold of Calocane's arm.

Shortly after, Calocane launched his attack.

The footage then showed a struggle as Calocane was restrained against a piece of furniture.

Loud shouts saying "stop it" and "don't hit him" could be heard on the recording.

The inquiry heard an incapacitant spray was used on Calocane - seemingly with no effect - before a taser was deployed.

Calocane could be heard screaming loudly and grunting in pain, as the taser was used twice, to stop him.

He was then restrained on the bed and handcuffed while he was heard swearing.

Pritchard told the inquiry Calocane had tried to swing the handcuffs at him before he was stopped.

On the footage, while laying on the bed in handcuffs, Calocane could be heard saying: "You did good, yeah.

"You didn't go down."

James Coates, one of Ian Coates's sons walked out of the hearing as the footage was played, while the mother of Barnaby Webber, Emma Webber, sobbed and at one point said "disgusting".

Pritchard told the inquiry: "At the time he wasn't demonstrating any warning signs. He just began assaulting me.

"It seems as soon as I stepped in the room he began just swinging completely out of the blue."

He added the assault was one of the worst he had ever encountered in his almost 16 years of police service.

A decision to charge Calocane was made in May 2022 and he was summonsed to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court in September that year.

He did not attend that hearing - due to being in hospital - and a warrant was subsequently made for his arrest.

That warrant was still in place when Calocane carried out the deadly attacks in June 2023.

The inquiry heard Calocane – referred to throughout the inquiry as VC - was initially taken to Queen's Medical Centre, as per the police force's standard practice, due to having used a Taser on him after the attack on Pritchard.

He was then taken to Highbury Hospital, where an assessment was carried out by mental health professionals.

Ellis told the inquiry that when she asked a doctor who carried out the assessment for information about Calocane's mental health, he offered only to give her a statement consisting of what he saw during the assault on Pritchard but was "reluctant to give me any details on what a diagnosis was for VC or how the plan was going to go forwards".

She said those were things that would be needed to be considered by the Crown Prosecution Service.

"He was reluctant to give me those details basically citing doctor-patient confidentiality," Ellis said.

She added she found the getting information from mental healthcare providers "really difficult".

Wakefield, in her evidence, spoke about the difficulties of attending mental health related incidents.

She said: "We go to so many mental health jobs and essentially whilst we do have training on it when we join the job we are fighting a losing battle essentially."

Wakefield added: "People go to university for years to study mental health. As a police officer going to these jobs on our own sometimes with a day's training."

The officer said she found herself attending jobs "it is not a police officer who is needed it's a mental health specialist".

She added: "We just do our best essentially."

The inquiry continues.

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