Keyham inquest: Officer defends decision not to charge gunman for attack on teen before shooting

  • Sam Blackledge's latest report on the ongoing inquest into the Keyham shooting which tragically saw Jake Davison shoot and kill five people, including a three-year-old girl

A senior police detective has defended her decision not to charge the gunman behind one of the UK's worst mass shootings with actual bodily harm after he violently attacked a teenager in a skate park.

Jake Davison punched a 16-year-old boy nine times in Plymouth's Central Park, leaving him bleeding and requiring hospital treatment in September 2020.

Less than a year later Davison shot and killed five people in Keyham, including a three-year-old girl, on 12 August 2021.

Questions have been asked about why the killer was not charged with a criminal offence after the attack in the skate park, and instead, handed a booklet about anger management.

The incident was investigated by Detective Inspector Deborah Wyatt, who gave evidence at the inquest into the mass shooting.

Keyham victims Lee and Sophie Martyn (top right), Kate Shepherd (top left), Maxine Davison (bottom right) and Stephen Washington

Detective Inspector Debbie Wyatt reviewed the evidence compiled by a detective constable and referred Davison to the deferred prosecution Pathfinder scheme, designed to divert people away from the criminal justice system.

The inquest heard Davison threw nine punches, leaving a teenage boy hospitalised with a two-inch cut above his eye.

CCTV images show Plymouth gunman Jake Davison in the moments before the violent attack.

A CCTV image of Plymouth gunman Jake Davison in the moments before he violently attacked a teenage boy in a skate park

The pictures, released for the first time by the coroner at the Keyham inquest today (7 February), show Davison walking along a path beside Central Park.

After apparently being verbally abused, Davison clambered up a grass bank and into the skate park, where he punched a 16-year-old boy nine times and slapped a 15-year-old girl.

Ms Wyatt was questioned extensively on her decision to treat the incident as a battery rather than as assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), which would have seen it passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.

DI Wyatt said she did not believe there was sufficient evidence to send the case to court."The tragedy has impacted me professionally and personally, and I have reflected on whether I should or could have done anything differently," DI Wyatt said.

PC Printer ran to killer Jake Davison to try and negotiate with him before he took his own life Credit: Jake Davison/PA

"I have forensically analysed my decision-making. My role is to look at the evidence and determine whether there is a realistic chance of conviction."

The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, suggested he may have lost consciousness during the attack, which would be classed as an "aggravating factor" when deciding whether or not to charge an offender with Actual Bodily Harm (ABH).

The court heard his parents were "adamant" the case should go to court, but Davison was instead referred to an anger management course through the Pathfinder scheme.

He did not take part in the course and was instead given a booklet about anger management.

When deciding whether to charge an offender with ABH, police are required to take aggravating and mitigating factors into account.

Detective Inspector Debbie Wyatt gave evidence at the inquest Credit: Elizabeth Cook

These include whether a weapon was used; whether there was more than one blow; whether the victim was attacked while vulnerable and defenceless; whether it was premeditated; and whether it caused serious or minor injuries.

In her report, DI Wyatt said Davison "admitted the offence, acknowledged his own shortcomings and showed remorse for his actions."

However, she added, he had "vulnerabilities, which are a mitigating factor.

"He has no previous convictions or cautions. I feel diversion via Pathfinder would provide meaningful engagement for the suspect to manage his behaviour and ultimately safeguard the public", the report said.

The inquest heard when police were deciding whether or not to charge Davison, they didn't know he had a firearms or shotgun certificate.

Ms Wyatt said even if she had known, she did not think it would have changed her decision had she known.

“The reality is that if I had been informed he was a firearms certificate holder, I would have delayed any decision but I do not think I would have changed it,” she said.

“I would have asked the officer in the case to contact the firearms licensing unit to make them aware of the behaviour and let them decide whether to seize the weapon or not.”

The inquest continues.

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