Law Weblog

Brooks v Chief of the Police for the Metropolis [2005] HL

Saturday 23 April 2005 at 5:18 am | In News | Post Comment

[Tort – duty of care – police – fair just and reasonable]
D the police who it was alleged failed to treat C properly as a victim of crime. As a result, he suffered a very severe post-traumatic stress disorder. C (Duwayne Brooks) was present when his friend Stephen Lawrence was abused and murdered in the most notorious racist killing which our country has ever known.

Held: The police should not have imposed on them a duty of care to since to do so would cut across the freedom of action they ought to have when investigating serious crime.

C lost.
Whole judgment here