Bijan Ebrahimi ‘ignored by police’ and killed by vigilantes in Bristol

Three police officers and a community support officer failed to deal with the complaints of a disabled man just 48 hours before he was murdered in a vigilante attack after being mistaken for a paedophile.

The three constables let their dislike of the victim, Bijan Ebrahimi, influence their approach to a “toxic situation” outside his home where a neighbour was threatening to take the law into his own hands.

Lee James, 26, wrongly suspected Mr Ebrahimi was a paedophile and told police he would “do time to protect his children”.

Two days later, at around 1am on Sunday, July 14, James repeatedly punched and kicked the Iranian national unconscious outside his home in Capgrave Crescent, Brislington, Bristol, before setting his body on fire with the help of his neighbour Stephen Norley, 26.

James admitted murder and was jailed for life while Norley received a four-year sentence after pleading guilty to assisting an offender.

Bristol Crown Court heard that on the evening of July 11 Mr Ebrahimi dialled 999 and reported that James had come into his flat and assaulted him.

When police arrived at the scene they noted that James, a father of three, appeared so angry he was “foaming at the mouth”.

But the officers arrested Mr Ebrahimi rather than James. And when he was released from custody the following day, he continued to seek help from the police but they failed to protect him, prosecutors allege.

Police Constables Kevin Duffy, 52, Leanne Winter, 38 and Helen Harris, 40, and police community support officer Andrew Passmore, 55, each deny a charge of misconduct in a public office.

Opening the prosecution case, Crispin Aylett QC said: “Mr Ebrahimi had fallen out with a number of his neighbours on a council estate in Brislington, south east Bristol.

Some of them thought quite wrongly that Mr Ebrahimi was a paedophile.

“Put simply vigilantism was in the air.”

“Thereafter the police did nothing to ensure that Mr Ebrahimi’s original complaint was properly investigated. Lee James’s ugly threat was simply overlooked.”

On the Friday before the attack, Mr Ebrahimi had made 12 calls to the police station.

The case continues.