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Nevaeh Ager was killed by her father, Aaron Izett, in Little Waihi in 2019.
The great-grandfather of the murdered girl Nevaeh Ager says 111 emergency call errors are not to blame for the death of the two-year-old.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority released its findings regarding the handling of the call reporting concerns about a child’s well-being on Tuesday.
Nevaeh’s great-grandmother called 111 on March 20, 2019, concerned about her granddaughter’s partner, Aaron Izett, and the well-being of her great-grandson in her care.
Benn Bathgate / Stuff
Nevaeh’s body was discovered in the mudflats behind Tio Place in Little Waihi.
She said Nevaeh was alone in the house with her father while her mother was in the hospital and, among other things, said that Izett was “out of his mind” and had just attacked her and her husband.
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The person who received the call told his police that he had no power to intervene or remove Nevaeh from Maketu’s property as she and her husband did not have custody.
The next morning, the police received a series of calls about disturbing behavior in the same direction, leading to the discovery of Nevaeh’s body in a nearby estuary.
Nevaeh’s great-grandfather, John Sturgess, said Things they were trying to get over it all.
TOM LEE / THINGS
Nevaeh Ager’s murder was devastating for Little Waihi residents, some of whom tried to warn authorities.
“There’s really not much we can do with what happened with the phone call, so we’re trying to put it behind us and move on.”
He said that they had a very good and open meeting with the police on Monday and explained how they felt and the police explained that they had made mistakes.
“In general, we think the problem was the guy who committed the murder and this was really just a side issue.”
An IPCA investigation found that Call 111 was not handled in accordance with police policy, standard operating procedures, and good practices.
Benn Bathgate / Stuff
Aaron George Izett in the dock during the Rotorua murder trial.
It found that the person who received the call coded the event incorrectly, gave inaccurate advice and did not record details that may have affected the police response.
The dispatchers also failed to carry out proper checks or pass on relevant information, and they did not check the police database for more information on Izett.
A second dispatcher then checked the database and verbally informed the first dispatcher of the relevant information, but did not copy significant information in event 111.
“This is an extremely sad case,” said the authority’s chairman, Judge Colin Doherty.
“While police processes were judged to be flawed, due to uncertainty about the exact timing of Nevaeh’s death, it is not possible to say whether the police would have prevented her from being hurt if they had come to see how she was shortly after the call. from Mrs. Sturgess “.
The IPCA investigation concluded that the police responded appropriately to the information that the person who received the call had recorded about the incident.
However, if the relevant information had been recorded and encoded correctly, the police probably would have responded much earlier than they finally did.
“We disappointed Nevaeh and her family,” Deputy Commissioner Tusha Penny said in a statement Tuesday.
“If the information from call 111 had been properly recorded and shared, the police might have had the opportunity to intervene.
“We will never know if we could have prevented this tragic outcome, and we are deeply sorry.
“The police come to work every day to keep our communities safe, but this time, we could and should have done more.
“Police met with Nevaeh’s family yesterday to apologize in person and discuss the police response to the Authority’s findings.”
The call operator and dispatchers involved were receiving ongoing support and training to ensure they were better equipped to respond to future incidents.
The dispatchers also agreed to share their experience and lessons learned with others in the role.
Aaron Izett was found guilty of Nevaeh’s murder and is due to be sentenced in February.
