A GMP officer has admitted he "buried his head in the sand" and failed to report a relationship he had formed with a victim of domestic violence he met on duty. PC Dean Birkhead told a misconduct hearing he was "scared" of the potential consequences.
The hearing was told that his contact with the woman, called female A, developed rapidly after he took two statements from her alleging abuse by her then husband on December 8th and 11th 2018. By December 24th the woman had sent him a picture of her in a bikini. In early January 2019 she sent two images of her and the officer merged with the captions "hot stuff us baby" and "we make a hot couple". But PC Birkhead and the woman both denied it was a sexual relationship at that stage.
PC Birkhead had organised the arrest of the woman's then partner, after he had breached the conditions of his bail. The woman had called 999 on December 7th 2018 about a domestic incident involving her husband. When PC Birkhead later visited her with a member of police staff, she said she she was convinced her husband would kill her.
But by December 13th the woman was contacting PC Birkhead on his personal mobile phone. The woman told the hearing she contacted him via his personal mobile as it was quicker than hanging on the line via 101.
The officer, who is based in Stockport, is accused of forming a relationship with a domestic abuse victim, not informing anyone at GMP about the relationship, and of hiding his phone, and providing inaccurate information when investigated. He is now answering allegations that his actions amounted to gross misconduct.
He denies the allegations, but does not dispute claims he contacted and met the woman outside of work. In April 2019 he left his marital home but denied a suggestion by barrister Cameron Scott, representing GMP that the relationship with female A was a "whirlwind romance" which began in December 2018.
PC Birkhead accepted that he and female A went on holiday to Grasmere in the Lake District in August 2019, and by then the relationship was sexual. He was arrested in September that year while on a course. When arrested, he claims, he fainted three times.
Representing PC Birkhead, barrister, Ben Summers, asked him why he did report the relationship to the force. He replied: "Very difficult question. I was aware what my responsibilities were. I buried my head in the sand to an extent. As much as I have just panicked. Naievely I didn't. It is not that I didn't know what my responsiblities were. We've had a friendship and it is being scared of reporting something - a crossover from a professional relationship to a friendly relationship. But at that point there when I agree I should have reported it, it was sexual at that time.
"I certainly agree that at the end of December, into January, it would have been in my interests to have reported that to a supervisor. Believe you me see sir, it crossed my mind on occasions but I was scared of what the outcome would be. I wholly apologise for not doing it."
He added: "I let people down. I should have reported it. (It was) The fear of letting family, friends, and colleagues down, which made me not do so at that time."
He denied deliberatley hiding his mobile phone when arrested. He said he had several fainting episodes and was sat down on a low wall outside. "The phone was in my pocket at that point - that was the third medical episode that I had. I strongly deny that at any point I intentionally did I hide that phone. I did not say that my phone was at home."
According to GMP PC Birkhead and female A contacted each other 878 times over four months, including sending photos of each other. On December 17th 2018 PC Birkhead spent two hours at her home. He said it was to return a diary seized from her home during a previous police search. In the early hours of December 28th he attended a party at her home.
Commenting on the party, Mr Scott said to PC Birkhead: "I suggest that was a personal visit." He replied "That's not correct sir."
The pair attended a match between Manchester City and Burton Albion together in January 2019. They then attended another City game that month against Newcastle away. They spent the night at the Travelodge in Newcastle, sharing a room, but PC Birkhead said they were not intimate that night.
Mr Scott suggested that the reason PC Birkhead began using his personal phone to contact female A from December 13th 2018 was because he knew it would not be monitored. He also suggested that another visit to the woman's home in December was a personal visit not just to deliver GMP issued security devices for her property. PC Birkhead replied: "That's not correct sir, no."
Earlier in the hearing female A denied that she was "vulnerable" and when asked by Mr Cameron about the "hot stuff us baby" and "we make a hot couple" messages to PC Birkhead said "we were having a laugh". Of the bikini picture - taken in Abu Dhabi, she said: "I guess I was showing off that I had been to Abu Dhabi on my own."
The misconduct hearing will continue on Wednesday (July 5th).
