Police call handler dismissed for not sending help to rape victim

A control room call-handler at Thames Valley Police has been dismissed for gross misconduct after it was found she did not deal with a call from a woman claiming she had been raped appropriately.
Thames Valley Police logoThames Valley Police logo
Thames Valley Police logo

Gail Daniels-Ekarte took a 999 call in December 2013 from a vulnerable member of the public reporting that she was in danger.

After five and a half minutes the call was ended by the call handler and no resources were sent.

Later that day the police received a further call reporting that the woman had been raped.

At the hearing it was found that Ms Daniels-Ekarte failed to deal with the call appropriately and did not follow the force’s policies and guidelines.

She was dismissed without notice on Wednesday August 10 following a gross misconduct hearing, police said today (Wednesday).

The hearing came after the police referred the matter to the IPCC, who investigated and found there was a case for Ms Daniels-Ekarte to answer.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Hardcastle, head of operations for Thames Valley Police said: “We have dismissed a member of staff as they failed to respond appropriately to what was a clear call for help from a member of the public.

“At Thames Valley Police we expect the highest of standards from our staff and officers.

“Sadly the individual’s actions in this case fell very far below the standard of what we expect.”

Following a police investigation 40-year-old Zilvinas Ruzgas of Odessa Road, London, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for one count of rape and placed on the sexual offenders register.