Northern Constabulary acknowledge the sergeant was out of order in the remarks he made to Martin McLeod.

The force has also apologised for the way in which his subsequent complaint was handled.

Mystery continues to surround the circumstances of how Martin's older brother Kevin came to end up at the bottom of Wick Harbour in February 1997.

Two police probes and a fatal accident inquiry proved inconclusive though his family continue to believe that severe internal injuries exposed in the postmortem examination indicate he was the victim of foul play.

The apology for how Martin was dealt with is contained in a letter sent by Northern Constabulary's Deputy Chief Constable Garry Sutherland.

Headed "Restricted", it centred on Martin McLeod's conversation with Sergeant Dick Martin at Wick Police Station on September 25, 2000.

Martin, then 21, had gone to provide documents after he had been stopped several days earlier for driving without a seat belt.

While at the station, Sgt Martin gave him leaflets entitled Support After Murder and Healthy Options. The sergeant advised him to give them to his parents, Hugh and June McLeod.

In his letter to Martin McLeod, Mr Sutherland states: "Sergeant Martin made mention of your brother's death.

"In this context Sergeant Martin said that Kevin had not been murdered but had killed himself.

"Clearly this interaction with Sergeant Martin upset and offended you."

Martin and his mother made a formal complaint about the sergeant the following day. In a subsequent internal investigation, Sgt Martin confirmed the conversation he had had with Martin but insisted that he had meant no malice towards him.

Mr Sutherland said: "Although it was decided not to proceed with any misconduct on the part of Sergeant Martin, he was transferred from Wick as a direct result of this matter and other dealings he had with your family."

Mr Sutherland said that though the complaint had not been formally recorded, he was satisfied it had been properly investigated.

Subsequently, it was one of the long list of grievances the family had about how their complaints were dealt with by the force.

They were the subject of an independent report carried out in 2002 by Andrew Cameron, Chief Constable of Central Constabulary.

Mr Cameron then indicated that the force should apologise for a number of shortcomings, including the complaint raised by Martin.

Mr Sutherland said: "I apologise that this was not done at the time. Mr Cameron's report found a number of shortcomings in the way Northern Constabulary dealt with complaints.

"As a result of this I reviewed our procedures for dealing with complaints and put in place changes to our system to ensure such mistakes should not occur again."

Mr Sutherland concluded: "Having explained the matter, I now apologise to you both for Sergeant Martin's conduct towards you and for the way in which your complaint was handled."

Sgt Martin, who headed the initial investigation into the 24-year-old's death, retired from the force in September 2004.

Mr Sutherland's response followed a query from Martin's uncle Allan McLeod.

Allan McLeod said: "We think it's terrible that once again a belated apology has had to be extracted from the force.

"It's taken them eight years to be forced to apologise for the unacceptable actions of an officer."

Mr McLeod said Sgt Martin's actions were insensitive, disrespectful and totally unprofessional.

Said Mr McLeod: "Like the rest of the family, Martin was finding it very hard to cope with the loss of Kevin, whom he loved and respected and with whom he shared the same interest in cars.

"Martin came home that day very upset and shocked at what this officer had told him. To say the family was furious is an understatement.

"If the officer meant no malice then why did he give him the leaflets and say what he said when Martin was there on a totally unrelated matter?"

Mr McLeod questions whether the force has improved its handling of complaints.

He said: "Northern Constabulary should once again be ashamed at how this complaint was handled.

"The Deputy Chief Constable continues to state that he has reviewed procedures for dealing with complaints to ensure mistakes should not occur. This remains to be seen."

Northern Chief Constable Ian Latimer last December apologised for the shortcomings of his force in the initial inquiry and in how it responded to the family's complaints.

iain-grant@ukf.net

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