Man Tortured and Killed After Police Misdirected During 999 Call, Inquiry Finds

A man who was tortured and fell to his death from a tower block died after police responded to incorrect floor information from a 999 call, a sheriff has determined.

James Forbes, 37, was abducted and tortured by Lee Smith, also 37, in January 2024. During the ordeal, Forbes plunged from a 12th-floor window.

Sheriff Principal Andrew Miller, who led the Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI), identified four areas where reasonable precautions could have been taken to prevent the tragedy. These included the recording of 999 call information, follow-up contact with a key witness, inter-officer communication, and responding to details about Forbes's pleas for help coming from higher floors.

The inquiry heard that a witness informed a call-handler that the screams appeared to originate from around six floors below the top of the building. However, this information was logged as being between six and eight floors from the bottom, directing police to the wrong section of the tower.

Forbes's sister, Lyndsay-Anne, has called for legislative changes regarding how emergency services handle 'concern for person' call-outs, advocating for what she terms "Jamie's Law." This law would mandate that officers responding to such calls remain on scene until the distressed individual is located.

During his abduction and torture, Forbes was reportedly struck with a hammer and subjected to punches and kicks. Witnesses made multiple 999 calls after hearing screams and seeing a man with blood on his face at the 12th-floor window.

One neighbor on the tenth floor reported hearing a man shouting, "Please help me." Responding officers conducted door-to-door inquiries on the sixth, seventh, and eighth floors but were unable to locate the source of the distress. They reportedly advised construction workers in the area to call back if the shouting resumed, before leaving the scene.

Forbes subsequently fell from the window. The FAI report noted that information from a 999 caller about Forbes's location was inaccurately recorded, and no attempt was made to re-contact the caller to verify the details before closing the inquiry.

An FAI also found that police failed to act on information from construction workers who reported hearing screams from the upper floors of the building on the morning of Forbes's death.

Sheriff Miller made two recommendations to the Chief Constable, including enhanced guidance for call-handlers to minimize recording errors and new procedures for re-contacting callers reporting concern-for-person incidents before closing an investigation.

Andy Shanks, Procurator Fiscal for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, stated that the sheriff's determination outlines reasonable precautions that could have been taken and provides recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future. He extended condolences to Forbes's family.

Lee Smith pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and was sentenced to eight years in prison in December 2024. At the time of the police's arrival at his flat, the property was found to be covered in bloodstains, and the door lock had been altered, preventing exit.

Assistant Chief Constable Phil Davison acknowledged the sheriff's determination and the recommendations, stating that work is already underway to review and improve processes related to concern for person calls from both a call-handling and response policing standpoint.

This incident echoes the M9 tragedy in 2021, where Police Scotland was fined £100,000 for health and safety failings after a woman died by the roadside days after a member of the public reported her crashed car. Call-handling failures in that case were found to have materially contributed to the death of Lamara Bell, 25.