Channel 4 - To Catch A Copper

[NameChangeAsICouldBeOverReacting]

Thoughts?

I was luckily able to watch this during work due to my job and it absolutely SHOCKED me to my core and really affected me.

Full pay for three years, retired on a full pension AND can work in police again??

fuck me

his wife is thick as mince

hopefully now his 'mates' can see what a true cunt he really is - god knows what pile of steaming shit his been feeding them over the years

Surely that raping bastards wife can't have heard him on tape until tonight claiming that a woman incapacitated through alcohol managed to get him out of his seat belt, his trouser belt, his trousers and his pants to access his vile knob while he was sober, on duty as a sworn officer of the law, and resisting?

REALLY????? And a full pension, dear god get to fuck. This programme is going to reach the parts mere newspaper reports can't reach. Hope Officer Cocking and whoever is protecting him feel the full force of this sunlight.

@mummabubs Yes, it looked totally amateurish to me (a layperson). Surely those officers should have been challenged more robustly to make them actually reflect on their behaviour? The officer conducting the session seemed utterly clueless, almost like he had just googled "reflective practice" five minutes before the meeting, and wasn't even trying to hide his cluelessness!

If this is how they sanction officers who behave like that on camera, and are even heard admitting their behaviour was inappropriate on the bodycam footage (while laughing about it and smoking), it's a completely useless system.

As for the whole Lee Cocking thing, I don't even know where to begin.

Absolutely disgusting and horrific behaviour but even worse that they all got away with it. Felt sorry for the few that were trying to bring the assholes to justice. This programme has to bring about change. I’d like to think that the Chief Constable is whistle blowing in a way but that’s probably wishful thinking. At least the world can see what a c**t Cocking is now!!!!! Arrgghh so f’in angry !!!!

I can only think it must be a form of whistleblowing @Onheretoomuch - it's hard to understand why else they would allow this to be broadcast. When the Chief Constable was watching the footage (from the woman on the bridge incident), she did look genuinely shocked and concerned, as did the others present.

A far cry from 24 Hours in Police Custody and the like, wasn't it.

I can’t believe the public jury didn’t find him guilty, waste of money, time and totally let the victim down, his account was so woolly !

The woman on the bridge who they said is a ‘regular’ highlights the lack of support, I can’t see the justification for the parva spraying at all!

Cocking has twenty years service. Chances of this being the first time he's abused a vulnerable woman on duty are going to be nil and no intelligent person thinks otherwise.

The Counter Corruption Unit must feel like all of their work is pointless. What a shit show! Hope the media go to town with this…

I hope if there are other victims that they feel able to come forward. How naive is his wife ?!?!?!

It was an awkward watch.

That officer having sex on duty. It wouldn't have been his first time. The wife stood by him. It's a win win for him. Shocking.

It's true what that fed rep said though. The shit these often very young officers see everyday. They jump from being threatened with a knife to resuscitating someone to a dead child to someone who's been raped back to fighting with a drunk. They are expected to dealing with wrongness and sadness every day with no support. Flick from different emotions all day and be perfectly behaved. It gets to them. It's not sustainable long term.

I’m feeling anxious just reading these comments don’t think I can watch it

Actually Sarah Crewe is pretty good - her rape unit was pretty transformational so it wouldn't surprise me if she went for the documentary simply to show what a shit show it was and how tied her hands are.

Yes Police officers see many traumatic things but it’s still no excuse. There are many officers that don’t treat people like shit. If they can’t cope with the job they shouldn’t be doing it.

It's happened before. There was the Thames Valley one, outcry but soon forgotten. That must have been the 80s I think. Yes just googled it, it was 1982. If you didn't see it this link sets it out, episode 3 was the rape one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_(TV_series)

@MorrisZapp couldnt agree more - what a vile arrogant revolting piece of shit. I would guess he’s a serial abuser who couldn’t quite believe he’d been reported cos it’s his god given right to have sex with any drunk woman he offers a lift home in his uniform 🤬

I'm watching this as a serving officer and it's absolutely abhorrent.
I'm cringing .
I can't believe the level of dehumanisation and abuse - it's utterly sickening and makes me embarrassed to be a police officer . Never have I ever been such a cunt to anyone let alone someone who needs help.

I need out .

What a croc of shit !
A police sgt of 20 years can't stop a drunk woman jumping on him apparently?

God I'm so embarrassed. Fucking hell .
We've all gone through difficult times as a cop ! It's the job ! Fuck me sideways .

I'm not sure I can watch anymore .

It’s excruciating to watch - god knows how you must feel 😩

Well, that’s clearly not true, as the programme ably demonstrates.

It's awful . It's embarrassing. Its cringeworthy. I can't even describe how I feel . It's laughable .

I joined later in life and I love my job but I've always always treated everyone with compassion and respect. Even when they maybe don't deserve it - the burglar or the sex offender - but my job isn't judge and jury !

I'm absolutely gutted to watch this . It makes a mockery of every good , decent , human being who serves in this job and it's just soul destroying. In 17 years I've used pava twice when I was in immediate danger - not just to subdue a poor woman in crisis - I'm honestly sickened . No wonder we're in the shit 💩 f this is the standard of policing now . I'm horrified I really am . And I'm sad . I'm sad for every bloody great officer out there .

And the argument that If you aren't removed from people and can't show empathy you'd be in trouble is absolutely ridiculous.

That's exactly why I became a cop ffs ! Because I have empathy, because I can relate , because I want to help !

Yes a huge proportion of jobs now are not really within police remit and should sit with mental health but that doesn't change the fact you are dealing with a human being in a time of crisis !

Oh god I'm so angry watching this I might explode.

I haven't watched this (and going by the comments here I am reluctant to) but I think as a woman, and mother to a young adult woman, the consequences for corruption are not hefty enough. I have met a few s---bags in the police whilst doing my job and have had to say, no, stop, you are not being respectful. They don't care. I've even reported crappy officers to their sergeant and it goes nowhere.
These crappy corrupt officers need to be disciplined harder and faster in my opinion. A quiet word and a slap on the wrist just harms public confidence.

As a retired police officer I was utterly appalled at what I saw in this programme. I found it very difficult to watch and was horrified at the actions of all of those officers. I was fully expecting to learn at the end of the show what punishments had been dealt to all of them but could not believe there was none.

Also gobsmacked that the jury found the Sgt not guilty. The version of events he provided was absurd and implausible to say the least.

I really can't understand why Avon & Somerset went ahead with this or what they hoped to achieve from it. At a time when trust in the police is so low, this really is not going to help the vast majority of decent and respectful officers out there.

Agree completely and can't imagine this is going to do most of us still working in the police any good at all - It will just reinforce the perception that all cops are bastards!