Leeds police student repeatedly ’embarrassed’ by sergeant before killing himself, inquest heard

‘He really took to him’

A student police officer who studied at Leeds and died by suicide was repeatedly ’embarrassed’ by his sergeant, an inquest into his death has heard.

Anugrah Abraham, 21, originally from Bury, was a trainee police officer at Leeds Trinity University when his body was discovered in a wooded area in March 2023.

At Rochdale Coroner’s Court it was revealed that Sergeant Mark Wade, who had overseen Abraham’s training, had been described as ‘creepy’ by the student in the lead-up to his suicide.

Sergeant Wade told the court that it was never his intention to cause trouble and that he has since changed his “tone”, the BBC reports.

PC Taylor Barraclough, a fellow trainee officer, shared Abraham’s fears about Sergeant Wade’s behaviour.

She recalled five to seven times that Abraham was publicly reprimanded by Sergeant Wade in the emergency room. This concerned incidents such as lost items.

PC Barraclough also noted that the criticism appeared overly serious and lasted longer than necessary, adding that the reprimands could have been handled privately, rather than in front of the group.

“He really got into him,” she told the inquest.

“I thought it was a bit too much, a bit too hard and it probably lasted a bit too long.”

She said of Sergeant Wade and another senior officer: “We were afraid to go to them with things.

“I found them quite derogatory. I felt quite small when I came to them with questions about work.”

via CrowdJustice

Describing Abraham’s behaviour, PC Barraclough told the inquest he was “very quiet and very rarely stood up for himself” as he clearly found the pressure of his role difficult to handle.

She further articulated the challenges in managing the workload imposed by Leeds Trinity University as part of their police training programme. These were concerns that Abraham also shared.

Sergeant Wade told the hearing that the police department at the time had no clear policy on whether interns could be given time during their shifts to complete university assignments.

He further acknowledged that his management approach could be direct, but noted that he has since reassessed how he communicates with others. This included adjusting his tone and opting for private discussions, rather than addressing issues in a public setting.

Sergeant Wade said team members may have felt irritated by the need to regularly remind Abraham of his tasks or provide guidance due to his “slower progress.”

He also expressed that he felt “deeply hurt” by Abraham’s death.

Abraham’s father alleged that his son was subjected to racism and bullying during his internship. This claim has been denied by West Yorkshire Police.

Since his death, Abraham’s family, who call him “Anu”, have set up a funding page on CrowdJustice in an attempt to cover the legal costs of the inquest.

On the site, the student’s family expressed concern that: “Anu felt harassed and unsupported. He faced institutional racism and bullying, which led to severe stress and anxiety that he had to navigate alone. At just 21 years old, Anu took his own life.”

The investigation into Abraham’s death continues.

Featured image via Facebook

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