Leeds policing student repeatedly ’embarrassed’ by sergeant before suicide, inquest hears

A student police officer studying in Leeds who died by suicide was repeatedly “embarrassed” by his sergeant, according to an inquest into his death,

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

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

Sergeant Wade told the court his intentions had never been to cause distress and that he has since changed his “tone”, the BBC reports.

PC Taylor Barraclough, a fellow trainee officer, shared Abraham’s feelings of fear surrounding Sergeant Wade’s conduct.

She recalled between five and seven occasions where Abraham was publicly reprimanded by Sergeant Wade in the report room. This was over incidents like misplaced items.

PC Barraclough also noted that the criticisms seemed overly severe and continued for longer than necessary, adding that the reprimands could have been handled privately, rather than in front of the group.

“He really went in on him,” she told the inquest.

“I thought it was a bit too much, a bit too harsh and probably went on for a bit too long.”

She said, talking about Sergeant Wade and another senior officer : “We were scared to go to them with things.

“I found them quite belittling, They made me feel quite small when I’d go to them with questions about jobs.”

via CrowdJustice

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When describing Abraham’s demeanour, PC Barraclough told the inquest he was “very quiet and very rarely stood up for himself”, clearly finding the pressures of his role difficult to handle.

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

Sergeant Wade told the hearing that, at the time, the police force lacked clear policies on whether trainees were allowed 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 has included adjusting his tone and opting for private discussions, rather than addressing issues in a public setting.

Sergeant Wade said that team members may have felt annoyed by the need to frequently remind Abraham of his tasks or provide guidance, due to his “slower progression rate”.

He also expressed feeling “deeply hurt” by the death of Abraham.

Abraham’s father claimed that his son was a victim of racism and bullying during his time as a trainee. This claim has been denied by West Yorkshire Police.

Since his death, Abraham’s family, who call him “Anu”, has 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 express their concern that: “Anu felt harassed and unsupported. He faced institutional racism and bullying which led to severe stress and anxiety that he was left to navigate on his own. At just 21 years old, Anu took his own life.”

The inquest into Abraham’s death continues.

Featured image via Facebook

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