Nottingham attacks inquiry told Valdo Calocane was ‘spooked’ by police car siren
Valdo Calocane hit two pedestrians
The Nottingham attacks public inquiry has been shown police dashcam video of a van driven by Valdo Calocane hitting two pedestrians amid claims the triple killer was “spooked” by a patrol vehicle.
Footage showing the stolen van failing to stop after a police car activated its sirens was shown to the inquiry on Friday, alongside audio of an officer telling his control room “it’s running people over, two people down”.
The inquiry has heard how Calocane, a former mechanical engineering student, fatally stabbed University of Nottingham undergraduates Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, on Ilkeston Road, Nottingham, in the early hours of June 13 2023.
He then went on to kill grandfather Ian Coates, 65, in the Mapperley Park area around an hour later, stealing his van and using it to run over pedestrians at two locations in Nottingham city centre.
Police Sergeant Dean Reynolds, who spotted Calocane driving the stolen van, and force incident manager, Chief Inspector David Mather, both gave evidence to the inquiry about their role in responding to the stabbings and the vehicle attacks.
Sgt Reynolds told the inquiry chairwoman that he had taped off part of the scene in Ilkeston Road before searching as a single-officer crew for a suspect in the “maze” of nearby streets.
He was informed at about 5.22am that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle in Milton Street and offered his assistance to attend the incident.
While en route through Nottingham city centre, Sgt Reynolds said, he saw a white van which matched the description given over the police radio and had intended to pull the vehicle over, activating his sirens for four seconds.
Sgt Reynolds stopped at the scene to help the two pedestrians who were hit in Upper Parliament Street as Calocane drove off.
Sophie Cartwright KC, representing some of the victims who were injured by Calocane, asked Sgt Reynolds why he was seeking to pull over a vehicle without the “approval of command and control”.
Sgt Reynolds answered: “I don’t need the approval of command and control to pull a vehicle over.”
As video footage of the events was played to the court, Ms Cartwright put it to Sgt Reynolds: “I am going to suggest to you that this is the very point where you should have stopped and you should have made clear to control what the situation was.
“It’s the clear recollection of (victim) Sharon Miller that it was your actions and the pursuit immediately after the audibility of the sirens that she says spooked VC (Calocane) directly into being driven over.”
Sgt Reynolds answered that he did not believe he was pursuing Calocane.
Responding to questions from John Beggs KC, representing Nottinghamshire Police, Sgt Reynolds said it was “never” his intention to spook Calocane and had expected him to find a safe place to stop and pull in.
“I never thought he would have done such a thing,” Sgt Reynolds said.
In his evidence, Mr Mather said he had tasked armed response officers with administering first aid to Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar as a priority, as they had better medical training than non-armed colleagues.
The senior officer, who was the force incident manager and also the tactical firearms commander at the time of the double stabbing, said: “My working assumption based on my policing experience was given the location, given the time of day, given the age of the victims… was that this was a robbery.
“That was my main hypothesis. Again, in my experience, people that commit robberies then run away. So my expectation was that the offender’s intent was to evade capture, so they were fleeing.
“I knew that there were two very seriously injured individuals at the scene.
“And I wanted the ARVs to prioritise – using that extra skill and capability they have – those two victims and give them every opportunity to survive.”
Tim Moloney KC, representing bereaved families, asked the chief inspector a series of questions as to why he believed a robbery had taken place.
Mr Mather confirmed that he did not try to clarify with any officer at the scene whether or not there was any evidence that there had been any robbery.
Mr Moloney said Mr Webber’s wallet was notified on the log as being present at 4.21am, while a Tag Heuer watch and jewellery worn by Ms O’Malley-Kumar were also present.
“It was all her favourite jewellery. Did you know that?” the barrister asked.
Mr Mather answered: “No, I did not.”
Mr Moloney continued: “They had been brutally, brutally attacked and nothing had been taken.
“Did you inquire at any point – when they’d had their phones still with them, their ID with them, their wallets with them, their jewellery still with them – as to whether or not there was any evidence that there’d been a robbery?”
Mr Mather responded: “No, I did not.”
Mr Moloney added: “You didn’t think to ask questions of anybody to clarify what might have happened on Ilkeston Road – where two students have been savagely killed?”
“I was monitoring the incident. I could hear what was being passed,” Mr Mather said.
“I was trying to find him (Calocane). I was trying to ensure that officers found him.”
The inquiry continues.