Overview

• Coroner Louise Hunt ruled Wayne Brown's death as suicide, citing extreme stress from prolonged harassment and a CV investigation.
• Brown, the UK's first black fire chief, faced scrutiny over an MBA claim later clarified as an equivalent qualification.
• A suicide note named Benjamin Walker, who had filed multiple complaints, though harassment charges against him were dropped posthumously.
• The coroner highlighted West Midlands Fire Service's lack of policies to support senior staff and failure to conduct a lessons-learned review after Brown's death.
• A Prevention of Future Deaths report will address systemic shortcomings to prevent similar tragedies in the future.