By Jamie Lopez
You can read this article in full on The Lead here

In August 2017, police officers were called to an apparent domestic violence incident in Thornton-Cleveleys.

In reality, the noises which prompted concern were in fact a couple engaging in what would later be described as ‘loud sex’.

But while the initial callout was less problematic than expected, what followed was anything but.

From a man being tasered to two police officers facing a criminal trial and the end of their careers, this is the story of the six year saga which followed that tumultuous day on the Fylde coast.

On a summer’s day in 2017, officers working in Lancashire Constabulary’s West Division were called to the home of Steven Pepper and Cheryl Steele, amid concerns over a suspected domestic incident which could be heard coming from the property.

Officers including PC Jon Kelly - then acting up as sergeant - and PC Ellen McLachlan were among those to respond.

While it was concluded the incident hadn’t occurred as reported, the response of Mr Pepper and his girlfriend was acrimonious and led to a decision that Ms Steele should be arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace.

‘Hopefully your dog will get run over’

As she was led to a police van, Mr Pepper ran outside after her and was said to have barged a third officer, PC Jacques, out of the way in order to get out of the house.

Across various witness reports, Mr Pepper was described in ways ranging from offering no threat to being angry, abusive and potentially violent. One way or another, PC McLachlan decided to deploy a taser for the first time in her career, having recently been trained and authorised to use the weapon. Mr Pepper was immediately incapacitated and dropped to the floor, at which point PC Kelly restrained him.

If the appropriateness of the use of the taser was open to debate, what followed from PC Kelly was not. As Mr Pepper lay on the floor groaning in pain, the officer told him to “calm down or you’ll get tasered again”, adding “you’re the scum”. He also told him to “get off my arm you skanky fucker” and responded to concerns about Mr Pepper’s pet by saying “hopefully your dog will get run over”.

Footage of those remarks, which also included Mr Pepper referring to the officers as “cunts”, would later be played before a misconduct hearing some six years later. How the footage and subsequent investigation were handled would come under even greater scrutiny.

The fallout

With both Mr Pepper and Ms Steele detained, the officers later returned to Fleetwood station where the arrests would be processed on the new and largely unpopular Connect computer system. Among the various tick boxes which needed to be complete was a question as to whether there was any relevant bodycam footage which should be included. None was declared despite it being known that such footage existed and despite said footage being played on a big screen in the room at the time.

This decision was among those which were examined heavily during subsequent proceedings, with allegations aimed at PC McLachlan that she had deliberately tried to conceal the footage to protect PC Kelly. She continued to vehemently deny this throughout.

Among those to give evidence was PC Gemma Prestwich. On her second appearance as a witness before a misconduct panel, she explained she was not involved in the incident but was on the same shift and heard about the taser incident over the radio system. She spoke with PC Jacques after they returned to the station from separate jobs and created the case file on the Connect system alongside another officer.

PC Prestwich recalled PC Jacques describing Mr Pepper "windmilling" his arms towards the officers and reviewing the dashcam footage as part of a bigger group. None of this prompted any concern at the time, she said.

She told the panel it was not unusual for someone not involved in a case to create the case file at that time and further explained that it would be expected that the officer in charge of an investigation (OIC) completes the submission. PC Kelly, who was acting sergeant at the time, also denied any plot to conceal the video footage in a bid.

During her evidence and questioning, PC Jaques said she was told to mark the footage as “non-evidential” - which meant it wouldn’t be passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service.

PC Jacques explained this by saying: “When we viewed the footage, PC Kelly said ‘it doesn’t show anything’. When we came to the form, PC McLachlan said it didn’t show the domestic or the assault so it wasn’t evidence”.

Toxic culture

Another policing issue exposed as the events during and after the arrest were examined was a toxic culture within the police force and in particular those working in the squad which PC Kelly had been appointed acting sergeant for. The more senior PCs appeared to take issue with him being brought in as yet another temporary leader, while divisions were also drawn between those who had more experience and the more recent recruits.

The subsequent hearings and witness statements shone a light on how one of the team, PC Gavin Blades, particularly took issue and held the misguided belief that PCs Kelly and McLachlan were engaged in a romantic affair. While they had met up in social groups outside of work for dog walks, the officers insisted this was only done as part of bigger friendship groups and that there was nothing more to it.

However, the rumour mill was already in full motion and in November 2017, an impromptu meeting was called by PC Blades, during which he is said to have berated PC McLachlan in front of her colleagues and accused her of having an affair with PC Kelly, leaving her in tears.