The mother and stepfather of a transgender teenager who took his own life after going missing are taking High Court legal action against a police force whose response was found to have potentially contributed to his death.
Jason Pulman was found dead aged 15 in Hampden Park in Eastbourne in April 2022, with an inquest jury finding in April last year that his emotional and mental needs were âinadequately assessed and provided forâ by multiple services, and that police âresponded inadequatelyâ to his going missing.
Emily and Mark Pulman are now suing Sussex Police over an alleged breach of human rights, with around 10 hours passing between Jason being reported missing and an officer first attending their family home.
They claim the force âfailed properly or at all to protect Jason against the risk of suicideâ after he was graded only a âmedium riskâ, and that there was a âreal prospect of a different outcomeâ if there was a âreasonable responseâ to Jasonâs disappearance.
They also say the force is âflip-floppingâ over its position and whether it has learned from Jasonâs death.
The force has expressed its âsincere condolencesâ to Jasonâs family.
Speaking to the PA news agency, the couple said Jasonâs death, the subsequent inquest and legal battle had been âdevastatingâ.
Mrs Pulman, 39, said: âIf the police can actually take accountability for what has happened and what went wrong, that is the only way they can start making changes.â
She continued: âI think about Jason and how much he used to fight for things he believed in. He used to go to protests and research and get involved in different things because he wanted to make change.â
âI want to try and get some change for kids like Jason, as I know that that is what he would want as well.
âWhen I feel like quitting, I have got Jasonâs cheeky little head in my head, with his outfit, with all his badges on, saying âyou must fight for what you believeâ, and that is what gives me strength.â
Jason began identifying as a male aged around 14, but never received specialist gender dysphoria treatment due to assessment delays.
In documents filed at the High Court by law firm Bindmans, Nick Armstrong KC, for Mr and Mrs Pulman, claimed Jason also received insufficient mental health support.
On April 19 2022, Mrs Pulman discovered Jason was missing from their home in East Sussex and called the police.
She informed a call handler that Jason was transgender, had previously self-harmed and attempted to take his own life, and may have taken public transport.
The call handler graded Jason as medium-risk, but an officer did not look at the case for more than three hours after the first call, despite Mrs Pulman ringing police twice more and stating Jason had informed a friend he was travelling to London, most likely by train.
Jason remained graded as medium-risk, the British Transport Police (BTP) were not notified, and an officer did not attend the familyâs home for almost 10 hours after the first call.
This was despite there being âother opportunitiesâ to intercept Jason, Mr Armstrong said.
Around an hour after police visited the house, Jason was found dead in Hampden Park by a member of the public.
In a prevention of future deaths report last year, a coroner said Jason died âpotentially through his mental health and gender identity issuesâ, and that it was âalso possible Jason may have been prevented from committing suicideâ if BTP was made aware that he was missing.
Mr Armstrong said police knew or should have known that Jason ârepresented a real and immediate risk of life-threatening harmâ, but that their response was âslow, and strikingly casualâ.
He continued that Jason was a âsource of unlimited joyâ, describing him as âfunny, mischievous, artistic, rude and unconventionalâ, and that his death was an âunimaginable tragedyâ.
Nine days after Jasonâs death, Mr and Mrs Pulman met then-chief superintendent Katy Woolford.
Mr Armstrong said that Ms Woolford told the Pulmans that they had done âeverything rightâ and that there had been failings by the police, including not immediately grading Jason as high-risk.
But the barrister continued that there was a âsignificant and distressing shift in the policeâs evidenceâ at Jasonâs inquest, with the force allegedly seeking to exclude evidence related to the meeting with Ms Woolford and claiming there was âno arguable omission by anyoneâ.
The force accepted the inquest findings, stating that its service âfell below the standards expectedâ, but is accused of changing its stance again when the family threatened to bring legal action.
Mr Armstrong said that the forceâs âreversal and re-reversalâ on its position was âshamefulâ, adding: âThe claimants do not know whether the defendant has or has not learned from the inquest process.â
Mrs Pulman said: âYou feel like youâre getting close to answers and closure as to what happened and what has been happening, and then it is pulled away again.â
She continued: âItâs like torture, because youâre getting somewhere, then youâre kicked down.â
Mr Pulman, 50, said the forceâs âflip-floppingâ left the pair feeling âlet down, hurt and confusedâ, which, combined with the emotional impact of Jasonâs death, means he feels âhopelessâ.
He said: âNo amount of money, no apology, is going to make up for three years of what theyâve done, because thatâs long-term damage.â
A Sussex Police spokesperson said: âOur sincere condolences remain with Jasonâs family following their tragic loss; however, we are unable to comment further whilst legal proceedings are ongoing.â
