Police apologise for failing murdered Cardiff mother – WBNews

Two police forces in Wales have apologised for human errors in the minutes before a mother was fatally stabbed. Joanna Michael, 25, dialled 999 twice before her murder by ex-boyfriend Cyron Williams in Cardiff in August 2009 but police were slow to respond. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said South Wales Police and Gwent Police had failed her. Senior officers at both forces issued a statement apologising for the blunders. In its report the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) concluded that Ms Michael “was failed by Gwent Police, South Wales Police and the 999 system itself”. The mother-of-two was murdered in the early hours of 5 August last year when Williams broke into her home and found her with another man. She made two potentially life-saving 999 calls but police took a total of 22 minutes to respond and did not arrive until after she had been fatally stabbed. Two police call handlers, one at Gwent Police and one at South Wales Police, face disciplinary action following the inquiry. ‘No excuses’ In a joint statement Gwent Police and South Wales Police said they were working closely together to address the issues set out in the IPCC’s report. There are no excuses – we simply did not respond as we should haveCarmel Napier, Deputy Chief Constable, Gwent Police They acknowledged that the service given to Ms Michael was not reflective of what the public should expect from the police. Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent Police Carmel Napier said in a…more detail