Police apologise for telling wrong family about man’s sudden death

Police admit 'human error' caused distressing mistake in Aberdeen

Police say 'human error' by officers (not pictured) caused mistake (Getty Images)

Police have apologised after telling the wrong family about a man’s sudden death.

Officers in Aberdeen had “limited information” to identify the man, which led them to a house in Peterhead where they believed his sister lived.

But it was “quickly” realised that the wrong next of kin had been identified, and the police later informed the bereaved family.

Chief Inspector Neil McDonald said: “During the afternoon of Sunday 3 September, Police Scotland attended the sudden, non-suspicious death of a man in Aberdeen.

“Unfortunately there was only limited information available as to the identity of the deceased and police commenced enquiry to establish details of his next of kin.

“As part of that enquiry, officers attended at an address in Aberdeenshire where they believed deceased's immediate family resided.

“Unfortunately, it was established that this was not the correct next of kin.”

Ch Insp McDonald said the mistake was “quickly identified”.

He added: “I have reviewed the circumstances with it appearing to be attributable to human error.

“Whilst I am content that our officers were attempting to identity the next of kin in difficult circumstances, this should not have happened and a supervisor has met with the affected family and apologised to them.”