Wimbledon schools deaths - no charges

[Terminator X]

Drclarke said:

A tragic accident, and it was just that an accident.

I feel for the parents of the children killed, but saying they have been denied justice is wrong.

Locking the woman involved up for something she had no control over won’t change the situation or ease their grief.

The woman will also be suffering for the rest of her life.

It does feel like a BS story made up to get her off though. Kids dying like that, parents will never get over it.

TX.

[Ian Geary]

It must be awful for the parents (some of whom were there) and as well for the staff, who have to live with not being able to keep their pupils safe.

But yeah- can't see why the head is complaining about not being interviewed: what could they have added to an investigation about the driver's previous health?

And a pc couldn't remember some detail of the investigation - ok, look it up and send an email.

Ultimately if the police have done their work properly this investigation of the investigation shouldn't change the outcome.

[FMOB]

Ian Geary said:

It must be awful for the parents (some of whom were there) and as well for the staff, who have to live with not being able to keep their pupils safe.

But yeah- can't see why the head is complaining about not being interviewed: what could they have added to an investigation about the driver's previous health?

And a pc couldn't remember some detail of the investigation - ok, look it up and send an email.

Ultimately if the police have done their work properly this investigation of the investigation shouldn't change the outcome.

As above, it is easy to throw dirt on an investigation and conclusion that sticks because it doesn't sit well. It also feels like a call for punishment while ignoring the circumstances but is also a symptom of the lack of confidence people have in the Police.

[oddman]

Ian Geary said:

It must be awful for the parents (some of whom were there) and as well for the staff, who have to live with not being able to keep their pupils safe.

But yeah- can't see why the head is complaining about not being interviewed: what could they have added to an investigation about the driver's previous health?

And a pc couldn't remember some detail of the investigation - ok, look it up and send an email.

Ultimately if the police have done their work properly this investigation of the investigation shouldn't change the outcome.

Must have been very difficult and upsetting for all involved but can't think for the life of me why school leaders spoke to the BBC

I had numerous dealings with police when we reported unexplained/unexpected deaths in the NHS. Over a 30 year period police went from totally uninterested to pretty zealous. Nursing staff, who were usually in bits over an unexpected death, felt the attitude of the police dealing with them in the aftermath left a lot to be desired. I suspect these school leaders felt the same way. Fact of the matter is that those on the ground both staff and police only have part of a bigger picture. Whenever I had chance to speak to the officer in charge I would get a coherent and professional explanation of process. The support and communication with families from ourselves and the police also got better and more professional in my decades of experience. Where families were really struggling we would offer to meet together NHS consultant and senior officer to try and explain process. Professional duties and limitations of resource mean that these courtesies can't be extended to every bystander.

A particular watershed was the Ian Tomlinson case. His post mortem was assigned to a non specialist pathologist and the second post mortem came to the different conclusion that he died from trauma. After this, in a situation of unexpected/unexplained death cops had to decide whether to refer post mortem to a forensic pathologist so had to be more thorough in their initial inquiries.