Senior police officer investigated in arrest footage case

A high-ranking police officer is being investigated for allegedly perverting the course of justice in connection with legal action brought by a woman who sought video footage of her arrest. The officer and two other police staff members at Northamptonshire Police are facing a criminal investigation in relation to their "engagement with the courts and subsequent statements provided as evidence" during legal action brought by Nadine Buzzard-Quashie.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the three were also under investigation for potential gross misconduct - though this did "not necessarily mean disciplinary or conduct proceedings would follow". The force declined to comment.

As entitled under the Data Protection Act, Buzzard-Quashie, from London, set out to obtain the body-worn video of her arrest in Northampton in September 2021. But Northamptonshire Police repeatedly refused to hand it over, prompting her to take legal action against the county's chief constable, Ivan Balhatchet, for contempt of court.

He was found guilty at the Court of Appeal in November – the first time a chief constable has received such a sanction – and ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling nearly £300,000.

The video, published exclusively by the BBC, shows Buzzard-Quashie, who had been reported missing, being wrestled prone onto the ground by two officers. Police responded after being told there was a concern for her welfare. She claims her face was pushed into stinging nettles and said her treatment was "degrading".

Police charged her with failing to stop but the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. Criminologists and former police inspectors have told the BBC the police response, which involved a helicopter and a spike strip to stop her car, appeared to be disproportionate.

Northamptonshire Police failed to release the body-worn video to her, despite being ordered to do so by the Information Commissioner and a district judge. Later in court, police staff members and a senior police officer provided sworn statements, claiming the footage she had requested did not exist.

But audit logs obtained by Buzzard-Quashie's lawyers showed the claims to be false - not only was there more footage, but it had been viewed or accessed on dozens of occasions.

A spokesperson for the IOPC said it received a voluntary conduct referral by Northamptonshire Police on 19 November 2025. Her civil trial, which will be in front of a jury, is scheduled for April next year.