Trainee police officer took own life - coroner

The family of an aspiring police officer who took his own life after struggling with his training say they believe he was “set up to fail”.

Anugrah Abraham, 21, from Bury, Greater Manchester, was training to become a police officer with West Yorkshire Police in Halifax when he was found dead in woodland in March 2023.

His family claimed Mr Abraham, whom they called Anu, was bullied and suffered racism as a trainee, though this was disputed by the force.

Concluding the inquest at Rochdale Coroner's Court, senior coroner for Manchester North, Joanne Kearsley, ruled he died from suicide.

His family said he was "kind, gentle and funny”, adding they disagreed with Ms Kearsley’s ruling that his death was not preventable.

In her ruling, the coroner said: "There is no evidence that any steps should have been taken which would, on the balance of probabilities, have made a difference to the tragic outcome."

Speaking outside the court, his sister, Elisheba Abraham, said in a statement on the family’s behalf: “Anu was set up to fail.

“He never had sufficient support, particularly after he told his superiors that he was considering ending his own life.

"We cannot fathom how and why the coroner has come to that conclusion.

“Sadly, it is too late for Anu and for our family."

Mr Abraham began a Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) which combined studying at Leeds Trinity University and on-the-job training in October 2021.

His father, Amar, told the court that his son had started having problems after April 2022, when he was posted to Halifax Police Station.

The inquest heard that Mr Abraham had struggled with mental health issues, but had not told his family the extent of them and felt he did not want to let them down.

After complaints about Mr Abraham from another department, he had a meeting with his district line manager who told him she thought he was "massively struggling with the role".

After returning from a two -week holiday with friends he left his home address in the early afternoon and was reported missing from home at 22:50 GMT to Greater Manchester Police.

He was found dead the next day.

Ms Kearsley said the thought of returning to work "was likely to have been a source of distress" to Mr Abraham.

She added she would be preparing a prevention of future deaths report to send to the National Police Chiefs' Council about the challenges in addressing mental health in policing.

Following Ms Kearsley’s ruling, West Yorkshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Damien Miller said the force “fully respects these findings, and they will be reviewed in greater detail by the force to establish areas of future improvement”.

He added: “My thoughts are with both Anu’s family and his many friends and colleagues within and beyond policing.

“He was universally popular, and his loss is a continuing one felt by many.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it had carried out an investigation into the events leading up to Mr Abraham's death but said it did not find any evidence to support the claim.

In a statement they said: "The evidence did not indicate that PC Abraham was subjected to bullying while at work.

"We did identify a small number of incidents where we have advised individuals involved would benefit from reflection on how their actions may be perceived by others.

"However, these did not suggest that PC Abraham was treated less favourably than others in his team."

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