Timeline of our contact with Valdo Calocane

Nottinghamshire Police previously engaged with the defendant largely while supporting our colleagues in the NHS on a number of occasions.

We have helped transport the defendant to Highbury Hospital for treatment because he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

On each occasion, he was released by mental health services and his mental health managed by them within the community.

In September 2021, we were requested to support mental health services with a Section 135 warrant to section the suspect under the Mental Health Act.

We transported the suspect to Highbury Hospital and during this encounter he assaulted one of our police officers.

In January 2022, we were called to an incident where the defendant is alleged to have assaulted a flat mate. We did attend this incident, but because police action was not supported, we did not arrest the defendant on this occasion.

However, the resultant mental health referral did result in him being detained once again in a mental health establishment.

In August 2022, he was reported for summons and was due to attend court on 22 September 2022 for the assault on our officer.

He failed to appear on that occasion and a warrant for his arrest was issued in September 2022. He was never arrested for that warrant which was still outstanding at the point of his arrest in June 2023, when he brutally killed three people and seriously injured three others on the streets of Nottingham.

After the June 2023 attacks, we followed the Independent Office of Police Conduct’s guidance and, having shared details with them, we undertook professional discussions to establish whether the referral criteria was met over not executing the warrant for his arrest.

Following advice that the criteria for referral was not met, we decided not to make a referral, but undertook an internal review of this matter ourselves.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, who has led the overall policing response to the events of June 13, said:

“The devastating impact that the events of 13 June have had and continue to have for the families of those killed and those that survived these dreadful attacks are immeasurable.

“I have personally reviewed this matter and we should have done more to arrest him. In my opinion it is highly unlikely that he would have received a custodial sentence for the alleged assault.

“Of course, an arrest may have triggered a route back into mental health services, but as we have seen from his previous encounters with those services, it seems unlikely that he would have engaged in this process.”

“On June 13, we acted fast and efficiently to take this dangerous offender off the streets of Nottingham.

“We referred ourselves to the IOPC after his arrest. This was because in the minutes before his arrest he was being followed by a police vehicle and ran over two pedestrians.

“This is a standard procedure when a crime occurs while a defendant is being followed by police. The IOPC investigated this matter and said we followed all relevant guidelines.

“This was one of the darkest days in our city’s history and our officers will continue to support all those families affected by this horrific crime.”