Greater Manchester Police ordered to reinvestigate handling of man’s 999 call reporting an assault

Police have been ordered to reinvestigate a man’s complaint over their treatment of him after he dialled 999 to report an assault by a woman.

The woman went on to accuse Paul Nugent, from Heywood in Rochdale, of raping her on three occasions. But he has never been charged with the offence.

Mr Nugent, himself a former military policeman, says the false allegations have ‘ruined my life and driven me to the brink of taking my own life’.

Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor for policing has informed him that his claims are being now referred back for further investigation and criticising the way the police force has handled the situation.

What has happened with Paul Nugent’s complaint about GMP?

Mr Nugent made official complaints to the Professional Standards Branch (PSB) of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) over what he alleged was the failure of the Rochdale division to bring charges against his accuser for making the allegations and, he said, ‘ignoring’ evidence which would have established his innocence.

Now, in a letter to Mr Nugent seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the then assistant deputy mayor for policing Baroness Bev Hughes (who has since been replaced in the role by Kate Green) says: “I realise that making a complaint against the police, is, for most people, the last resort when they have tried other ways of getting answers about an incident that has affected their lives.

“I do not consider Greater Manchester Police’s findings are reasonable and proportionate. Your review has been upheld.”

Baroness Hughes said she was returning Mr Nugent’s complaint to GMP for ‘further action’.

She went on: “If you wish to challenge the outcome of the review of your complaint, you may seek a judicial review.”

Specifically, she recommended that GMP ‘considers providing Mr Nugent with a more comprehensive response in relation to his dissatisfaction with the actions of officers after he dialled 999’ when he was allegedly assaulted by his accuser.

Mr Nugent has also been advised by Baroness Hughes to contact the government’s Information Commissioner’s Office over his so-far unsuccessful attempts to get information from police about his case using subject access request (SAR) procedures.

A GMP spokesperson has previously said the force had received ‘nine contacts’ from Mr Nugent, some of which were ‘repeats’ of previously reported complaints or appeals, and that the majority had been closed with no misconduct found.

However, Baroness Hughes said in her detailed response to Mr Nugent that the GMP investigation into his complaints ‘did not elaborate on which complaints it was referring to when concluding that Mr Nugent’s dissatisfaction with the service provided by GMP, having dialled 999, was repetition’.

She went on: “I am unable to form a view on whether he [the investigator] weighed the information available to him appropriately and fairly when he decided to take no further action in relation to that concern.”

What happened to Mr Nugent?

In his written complaint to the PSB, seen by the LDRS, Mr Nugent said he was the victim telephoning 999 for ‘urgent police assistance’.

He said: “A male officer attended with another female officer. However, the woman police officer left my property within two or three minutes of entering my home.

“I was forced to sit outside my own home, while the male officer entered my home with my alleged attacker for over 30 minutes. He then left my property without speaking to [me] the victim or examining my injuries.

“Furthermore, in his police report, he listed me as a suspect in an assault.”

What have Greater Manchester Police said?

A spokesperson for GMP said: “GMCA’s [Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s] recommendations are currently being reviewed by Greater Manchester Police’s Professional Standards Branch. Until this has been fully reviewed GMP will not be commenting further.”

Responding to Mr Nugent’s complaints in January, a GMP spokesperson said: “Since 2019, GMP’s Professional Standards Branch has received nine contacts from Mr Nugent – some of which were repeats of previously investigated/considered complaints or appeals. The majority of these have now been closed with no misconduct identified – one remains under review and another, made on Friday, December 30, 2022, is awaiting assessment.

“The force is aware that Mr Nugent has also requested that Greater Manchester Combined Authority review his complaints/appeals. It would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.”