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| Two officers guilty of misconduct | Two officers guilty of misconduct |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Two police officers have been fined five days' pay after being found guilty of misconduct in a case where a woman was stabbed to death by her ex-partner. | |
| Pc Charlotte Hall and Pc Theresa Cottingham did not arrest Percy Wright for criminal damage after an incident at Colette Lynch's home in 2005. | Pc Charlotte Hall and Pc Theresa Cottingham did not arrest Percy Wright for criminal damage after an incident at Colette Lynch's home in 2005. |
| Ms Lynch, 24, was stabbed to death two days later by Wright at her home in Rugby, Warwickshire. | Ms Lynch, 24, was stabbed to death two days later by Wright at her home in Rugby, Warwickshire. |
| Pc Cottingham, 38, denied the accusation. Pc Hall, 30, admitted it. | |
| Miss Lynch's relatives stormed out of the hearing when it was announced how much the officers would be fined. | Miss Lynch's relatives stormed out of the hearing when it was announced how much the officers would be fined. |
| Even on their own account the officers failed to do the most basic of tasks Ass Ch Con David Compton | Even on their own account the officers failed to do the most basic of tasks Ass Ch Con David Compton |
| The two constables were ruled to have breached the police code of conduct by failing to perform their duties "conscientiously and diligently" when they were called to Miss Lynch's home in February. | The two constables were ruled to have breached the police code of conduct by failing to perform their duties "conscientiously and diligently" when they were called to Miss Lynch's home in February. |
| The five-day hearing, in Rugby, was the first police disciplinary hearing to be heard in public. | The five-day hearing, in Rugby, was the first police disciplinary hearing to be heard in public. |
| During the hearing the panel heard Miss Lynch was stabbed two days after she reported an incident in which Wright had come to her home, smashed the front room window and threatened to cut her throat. | During the hearing the panel heard Miss Lynch was stabbed two days after she reported an incident in which Wright had come to her home, smashed the front room window and threatened to cut her throat. |
| The inquiry was told the two "blinkered" officers failed to treat the incident as domestic violence and did not arrest Wright at the time. | The inquiry was told the two "blinkered" officers failed to treat the incident as domestic violence and did not arrest Wright at the time. |
| The street in Rugby where Colette Lynch lived and was murdered | |
| Assistant Chief Constable David Compton of West Yorkshire Police, who headed the panel, said: "Even on their own account the officers failed to do the most basic of tasks. | |
| "It is apparent that the officers treated this as a criminal damage offence on arrival and did not sufficiently consider other offences or the risk of further offences. | |
| "They took too narrow a view of the incident." | |
| He made it clear that at no time had it ever been suggested the officers were responsible for Miss Lynch's death. | |
| Wright, 35, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and made subject to a hospital order in August 2005. | Wright, 35, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and made subject to a hospital order in August 2005. |