Officers investigate alleged domestic assault while another officer attempted to interfere with the investigation – Sussex Police, August 2019

On 13 August 2019 a member of the public, who was a domestic worker, called Sussex Police to report she had been assaulted by her employer who she also lived with. When officers arrived, an off-duty police officer, who was also a family friend, was already at the scene having been asked to attend by the employer. On arrival, the attending officers spoke to both parties and the off-duty officer. They made the decision not to arrest the employer and took no further action in relation to the case. They recorded the incident as a mental health episode. On 22 August 2019 the same member of the public called Sussex Police to request that her previous report of assault was investigated. She stated she had previously been under duress and persuaded by the off-duty officer not to make a statement. As part of our investigation, we arrested and interviewed an …