Police were warned by vet about dog that went on to kill six-month-old baby but ‘they deleted email by mistake’
A POLICEofficer failed to act upon intelligence about a banned dog which went on to kill a six-month-old baby, a report has revealed.
Tragic Molly-Mae Wotherspoon's mum, Claire Riley, 23, was yesterday jailed alongside the tot's gran Susan Aucott, 56, for their roles in the baby girl's death in October 2014 in Daventry.
Now the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said an officer has a case to answer for misconduct after looking into how Northamptonshire Police handled intelligence about the dog.
The report said that concerns about Bruiser's aggression were documented nine months before the fatal attack when Molly-Mae's mother Claire Riley took the pet to see a vet.
The vet passed on details about the dog to RSPCA inspector Michelle McNab rather than the police, as she had contacted the force on previous occasions about different animals and believed they had done nothing.
Inspector McNab was told by the vet that Bruiser was "extremely aggressive" and "she had concerns for the children in the same house".
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Riley believed Bruiser was a Staffordshire bull terrier/mastiff cross breed, but the vet thought the animal was an American pitbull, and therefore banned under Dangerous Dogs legislation.
The information about the dog's aggression was passed on to Pc Claire Paul and was logged as "low priority" intelligence.
The details about Bruiser were passed on to another officer for action, but the report says the email may have been inadvertently deleted - and that Pc Paul did not follow up this request.
The report said: "Pc Paul's inability to follow up and act upon this intelligence demonstrates that on the balance of probabilities she failed to take appropriate action to ensure an incident log was raised and that further inquiries were made in connection with this.
"This investigation recommends that there is a case to answer for Pc Paul for misconduct."
Another officer who was alleged to have failed to act on intelligence was found to have no case to answer for misconduct, the IPCC said.
Pictures from inside the family home reveal the aggressive dog had run rampant throughout the home, tearing furniture to shreds.
Northampton Crown Court heard that Molly Mae was being looked after by Aucott while Riley went for a night out with friends.
The dog escaped from its cage in the kitchen and opened the door to the living room, where Molly Mae was on the changing mat.
Prosecuting, James House said: "He was an aggressive and dangerous dog and should not have been left in the house with a person who could not control him.
"The attack was sustained. Susan Aucott simply was unable to bring Bruiser under control or remove Molly Mae from the situation."
Whatever the sentence of the court today, there can be no greater punishment than the loss of my precious, beautiful granddaughter
Susan Aucott
A statement read on behalf of Susan Aucott called for Molly Mae's death to "not be in vain".
It read: "Whatever the sentence of the court today, there can be no greater punishment than the loss of my precious, beautiful granddaughter and watching, and experiencing first hand, the deep impact her loss has had on my daughter and all of our family.
"There is no doubt in my mind that things could and should have been done differently and lessons have been learnt the hard way. But it is important for the memory of Molly-Mae that these lessons do not stop here. These lessons need to be learned far and wide. Every parent, every dog owner needs to take notice.
"Please do not let Molly-Mae's death be in vain. Her death cannot be undone but let her beautiful face and her memory live on by serving as a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that could be suffered if these lessons are not learned now."
Sentencing had been adjourned last month after Riley was attacked outside court. She was rushed to hospital after being injured in a bust-up outside Northampton Crown Court.
She was due to be sentenced along with her mum Susan Aucott, 55, over the death of tragic Molly-Mae Wotherspoon in October 2014.
But the sentencing had to be adjourned after Riley and Aucott were caught up in a scuffle with photographers as they entered the court.
Members of their family appeared to try and shelter the pair under umbrellas and one man could be heard shouting "he's assaulted my daughter".
An ambulance was called a short time later and Riley was taken to hospital.
In October 2014, Senior Coroner for Northamptonshire, Anne Pember, said the family paid the "ultimate price" for owning the outlawed breed.
Speaking in court in August, Steven Hadley, defending Riley, said: "An ambulance has been called and she has been taken to hospital.
"This morning, as far as I'm aware, there was some sort of altercation with the press and Miss Riley was pushed against a wall.
"As a result, she felt unwell and I went outside and she was doubled up on the floor.
"She is at hospital and she is being treated.
"The nature of what she is being treated for is extremely personal."
Riley previously pleaded guilty to owning a pit bull dangerously out of control that caused the death of a child.
Aucott also admitted being the person in charge of a dog which caused injury resulting in the death of a child while dangerously out of control.
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