A police watchdog has ruled that a man who was killed at an Aberdeen high-rise could possibly have been saved had it not been for a series of mistakes and misunderstandings, The Press and Journal can reveal.
The Police Investigations Review Commissioner (Pirc) says communication mix-ups and “cursory” investigations by officers at the scene resulted in “missed opportunities” to trace Jamie Forbes and possibly save his life.
Mr Forbes, 37, plunged from a 12th floor flat at Elphinstone Court after enduring two days of brutal violence at the hands of killer Lee Smith.
In December, Smith was jailed for eight years after admitting the culpable homicide of Mr Forbes.
The Pirc report comes after it emerged that concerned members of the public made repeated calls to the police – starting hours before Mr Forbes died – after they heard a man screaming for help.
Officers arrived on the scene at around 10.25am on January 15 2024 but left approximately 40 minutes later after being unable to trace the source of the shouts.
Mr Forbes’ lifeless body was found on the ground outside the block of flats five hours later, at 3.30pm.
Pirc report’s findings into Jamie Forbes death
The Pirc report – which was passed to the Crown Office’s Fatalities Investigations Unit and disclosed to Mr Forbes’ next of kin – reveals:
- A call handler wrongly recorded the location of the distressed shouts and, as a result, officers were sent to the wrong floors of the 18-storey building
- A workman outside the flats told police at the scene that the shouting was coming from the top half of the building – but the officers didn’t act on that information
- Another witness claims she told the officers that sounds were coming from flat 47 – but police dispute this, saying they recollected being told “floor seven”.
- A sergeant allowed the officers to stand down and leave the scene after 40 minutes due to “confusion” over the extent of their inquiries
- The officers’ investigations at the scene were described as “cursory” and “did not exhaust all potential lines of inquiry and sources of information”.
‘It was Police Scotland that prolonged Jamie’s pain’
Mr Forbes’ sister Lyndsay-Anne Forbes said her “heart has been broken” by Pirc’s findings.
She said: “My brother grew up believing the police were protectors of the public – that they would be there for him if ever he found himself in trouble and in need of rescue.
“However, when that day came, it was Police Scotland that prolonged Jamie’s pain and suffering by wasting half a dozen hours of opportunities to locate and save him from the man who tortured and killed him.
“My heart has been broken to know that my brother was let down by police staff and officers who made silly mistakes, didn’t do their jobs properly and gave up on searching for Jamie.
“He would still be alive today otherwise.”
Wrong information given to officers
During the meeting with representatives of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Pirc, a family member was told that the first mistake happened within minutes of the first call being made.
Witnesses said the shouts were coming from the “top half” of the high-rise but the call handler incorrectly recorded that into the system as “bottom half”.
As a result, door-to-door inquiries focused on floors five, six, seven and eight, not the 12th floor where Mr Forbes was being kicked, punched and repeatedly struck with a hammer.
The report also noted that officers did not seek out or speak to the people who made the initial “concern for person” calls.
If they had, the family were told, any confusion about the location of the screams could have been cleared up and officers might have gone to the correct floor of the building.
One of those people who called 999 that morning insists she told call handlers the precise location of Mr Forbes.
Gail Thomson, 25, saw and heard Mr Forbes shouting from a window and told The P&J she gave “very specific” instructions to police.
She said: “I said there were two people – one on the balcony and somebody at a window from so many floors down from the top.”
Report reveals ‘missed opportunities’ to possibly prevent Jamie Forbes’ death
The report also said that crossed wires led to the officers leaving the scene after just 40 minutes. During their time at Elphinstone Court no further screams were heard.
Their sergeant was under the mistaken belief that they had spoken to the original callers and there was nothing more they could do on the scene. As a result, he granted their request to stand down.
The Pirc report’s conclusions described the officers’ investigations as “cursory” and did not exhaust all potential lines of inquiry and sources of information.
As a result, the report says, there were missed opportunities by police to trace Mr Forbes and possibly prevent his death.
Lyndsay-Anne – who is campaigning for a change in law – said: “Now knowing the findings of the Pirc report don’t make matters any easier. They’re even worse because now I know the senseless reasons why my brother Jamie isn’t here with me today.”
It is understood the Crown Office is now considering holding a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death, which would be held in public before a sheriff and examine all aspects of the case.
Lyndsay-Anne says she would fully support a public hearing into the circumstances of her brother’s death.
“The Pirc report is too focused on how the early mistakes made by Police Scotland hindered the search for Jamie,” she said.
‘Too many questions remain unanswered’
“Indeed officers were at a disadvantage with the false start they were given by the 999 call handler who recorded Jamie’s location incorrectly. However, those mistakes, even when combined, do not account for police inaction between the first calls being received and when his body was found.
“Too many questions remain unanswered.
“Only a courtroom environment in which people are compelled to attend and give evidence will truly get to the bottom of what really happened.
“I am therefore calling for a Fatal Accident Inquiry to look into Jamie’s death through the independence of a sheriff-led probe. Without an FAI, I fear that Police Scotland will continue to make huge errors that will continue to cost lives.”
Police Scotland has not yet received the Pirc report so declined to comment on its contents or the case.
A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “The Procurator Fiscal has received a report on the death of a 37-year-old man in Aberdeen on 15 January 2024.
“The investigation into the death is ongoing and significant developments will be shared with the family as the investigation continues.”