Police Interceptors Ben Sutcliffe guilty of gross misconduct, hearing finds

Det Insp Holly Hunter, of the force’s professional standards department, said rumours of a relationship between Sutcliffe and PC A were investigated in August 2025, and he denied it in interview, saying they were just friends.

But in November last year, PC A told investigators they had been in a relationship since the previous summer, and an examination of her phone showed they had shared 57,568 WhatsApp messages and 6,631 texts.

As an example, the detective said Sutcliffe texted PC A at 01:41 while he was on a night shift in July 2024, asking where to park at her house and leaving the boot of his vehicle open, indicating he was a dog handler.

Hunter said there was a subsequent text at 04:17 indicating “sexual conduct had occurred”.

It was later clarified that the sexual activity took place while he was stood down from his dog handler duties at the end of a night shift.

On another night shift in September 2024, Sutcliffe sent PC A sexually explicit pictures and videos, the hearing was told.

A message he sent PC A in August 2024 referred to Sutcliffe’s “wish to have sex outside and makes reference to a previous encounter in a car park in broad daylight which he described as risky”, Hunter said.

He suggested possible locations and later texts suggested it had taken place, the hearing was told.

In December 2024, there was a message from Sutcliffe which referred to “enjoying the risk”.

When a member of the professional standards team interviewed Sutcliffe, he stated he and PC A were “merely friends” and suggested the allegations may be “malicious”.

He later messaged PC A to say he had denied their relationship to investigators and that she should do the same.

Sutcliffe was also said to have passed on confidential details to PC A when another officer was arrested at his home in July 2025 when there was no policing purpose to do so.