Force refers itself to watchdog over attack probe before Calocane killed three

Leicestershire Police has referred itself to a watchdog over its investigation into alleged attacks by Valdo Calocane in May 2023 – weeks before he knifed three people to death.

Paranoid schizophrenic Calocane, 32, was last week handed a hospital order after stabbing 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, with a dagger and running over three other people in Nottingham in the early hours of last June 13.

After his sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court for the “merciless” killings, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said several incidents involving previous police contact with Calocane have been “brought to our attention which we were unaware of”.

This includes an attack on two people Calocane worked with at a factory in Kegworth, Leicestershire, on May 6.

Leicestershire Police said no one was seriously hurt in the factory assault and Calocane had reportedly been escorted off site by security before police arrived.

The IOPC said it requested more information about the attack from Leicestershire Police after Calocane’s sentencing last Thursday.

The watchdog also asked Nottinghamshire Police to give more details about a warrant issued for Calocane’s arrest in 2022 after he failed to appear in court for allegedly attacking a police officer.

In a statement to the PA news agency, the IOPC said: “Following the sentencing of Valdo Calocane several incidents involving previous police contact with him have been brought to our attention which we were unaware of.

“As a result, we asked Nottinghamshire Police and Leicestershire Police to provide us with information promptly about those incidents to establish whether there are any matters that should be referred to us.

“We have this afternoon received a referral from Leicestershire Police about its investigation into assaults Valdo Calocane was alleged to have committed on 5 May 2023, which we are assessing to determine what further action may be required from us.

“In relation to a warrant being issued for Mr Calocane’s arrest in 2022 Nottinghamshire Police provided us with information about that shortly after the tragic events of 13 June 2023.

“We decided it did not meet our referral criteria because the contact had not been recent and no conduct issues were identified for any individual officer.

“Nottinghamshire Police subsequently carried out an internal review of matters linked to the warrant and we have now also requested details of that learning exercise, in case there are any issues that would require our involvement.”