A cop and the wife of his police colleague shared video footage taken at the crime scene of a murder investigation. Cameron Lee Hanson, 33, was a serving officer with Lancashire Constabulary when he attended a speech in October 2021 and found the body of 45-year-old James O’Hara.
Hanson captured the gruesome discovery at the property in Barrowford, Lancashire, on his body-worn video, but minutes after he left he sent police civilian worker Kirstie Hanson, 33, audio messages about the incident and used his personal phone to take videos making of Mr. O’Hara.
The next morning, Kirstie Hanson asked fellow civilian worker Charlotte Riley, 30, if she wanted to ‘see a video of a murder’, Manchester Crown Court heard.
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Riley replied: “Yes, of course I do,” and Kirstie Hanson sent her the footage with the message: “Don’t show that to anyone, I’ll get in**”
Two days later, Kirstie Hanson was working at Darwen police station when she approached two other colleagues and showed them the recording of her husband’s body. The colleagues reported the matter to their superiors and an investigation was launched.
Prosecutor Matthew Conway said: “It was with the unbridled dignity of a person who had sadly lost his life that this investigation first came to light. This event prompted the arrests of Kirstie and Cameron Hanson and the seizure of their devices. When those devices were analyzed, a whole host of misconduct was discovered, along with the involvement of Charlotte Riley.”
The investigation uncovered an incident in February 2021 in which Cameron Hanson was called to a sudden death and texted his wife: “Just a potential murder.”
He took a photo of the deceased whose body was covered by a jacket and sent it to Kirstie Hanson, who replied: ‘Babyyy, that’s creepy. I hope that’s not your jacket.’
She forwarded the image to her mother while she was at work and both discussed possible causes of death, the court heard.
Other misconduct uncovered included unauthorized access to police computer systems, disclosure of private and sensitive information and “taunting vulnerable members of the public”, Mr Conway said.
All three defendants pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office at previous hearings, while the Hansons also admitted unauthorized access to a computer. Kirstie Hanson and Riley also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to secure access to computer material.
On Thursday (May 30), Cameron Hanson, of Packington Brook, Oswaldtwistle, was sentenced to 32 months in prison, Kirstie Hanson, of the same address, to 18 months, and Riley, of Carholme Avenue, Burnley, was jailed for 12 months. sentence with two years probation.
Last April, Michael Hannan, 32, was jailed for five years and four months at Preston Crown Court for the manslaughter of Mr O’Hara, who he punched during an unprovoked attack by a stranger.
Mr O’Hara’s mother, Janice, read a victim personal statement from the witness box at Manchester Crown Court about the impact of Cameron Hanson’s actions.
She said: ‘I cannot understand why anyone, let alone an on-duty police officer, could commit such an atrocity. Jay was our son and a brother, a funny, charismatic character, a wonderful human being, who PC Hanson and others humiliated so cruelly and thoughtlessly.
“They stripped our son of the dignity he deserved in death, it dehumanized him, all out of some morbid curiosity or some form of twisted boasting. The profession requires staff with honesty, integrity, compassion and respect, and Pc Hanson and his colleagues have demonstrated none of these values to us or to our son. They are a disgrace to the police, but more importantly, a disgrace to humanity.”
Judge Nicholas Dean KC, the honorary registrar of Manchester, told the defendants: “We have heard Ms O’Hara’s moving statement. When I heard her, I hope you felt the deep sense of shame you should feel. This is a shocking and disturbing case. Shocking and disturbing because of what it might tell us about the culture that seems to have existed at least within Lancashire Police for some time.
“It is difficult to say to what extent this type of activity was widespread, but it seems clear to me, partly because of the casual way in which you shared information, that this was not necessarily unusual in your workplace.
“You were all subject to some rules. Rules regarding the acquisition and distribution of information, but above all rules of basic decency. You ignored those formal rules and the rules of basic decency. You, Cameron Hanson and Kirstie Hanson, have engaged in a course of action that has extended over a significant period of time.
“In your messages you showed no compassion for the people you spoke about or for the victims whose photos you took and distributed. On the contrary, sometimes you made jokes in a positive way about people who were vulnerable and in physical distress.”
The various offenses took place between January 2019 and November 2021, the court heard. Among the offenses were two counts of unauthorized access to the police computer log by Cameron Hanson to an ex-partner, one of which involved the discovery of a body in a canal in February 2020.
The ex-partner sent him a message: “Are you at work? Tell me about the body in the lock” and an off-duty Hanson responded, “lmao (laughs) I’ll check it out when I get there later, ha ha.”
In January 2021, Hanson sent his wife a phone recording of a body-worn video he took when he used Pava’s incapacitating spray on a person known to have mental health issues. He messaged her: “Two arrests, both fights. Pavad, a mental health patient, lol.”
Kirstie Hanson replied with a laughing emoji and wrote: “I thought you weren’t allowed to pava them.” Cameron Hanson said: “It’s questionable but justified in this case, ha ha.”
In June 2021, Cameron Hanson was present at an incident involving a man covered by the Mental Health Act, of whom he made an audio recording. He texted his wife: ‘In an ambulance with a crazy person. This guy is crazy. Big mother fucker. Having to stand over him while he’s handcuffed and tied up because he’s so aggressive. I don’t know if you can hear him. They keep going on about Jesus and his grandmother being the queen.”
Kirstie Hanson replied: “What a fool.” Cameron Hanson then messaged: “It turns out this man has PTSD due to abandonment issues after his father left his family.”
In August 2021, Cameron Hanson was attacked during a scuffle and during the altercation he punched a man in the head with some handcuffs, the court heard. He then took pictures of the man’s injuries with his phone, which Kirstie Hanson then forwarded to Riley.
Riley texted Kirstie Hanson: “Jesus Christ. Keep going, Cam boy.” Kirstie Hanson replied: “He’s made a mess of things, hasn’t he.” Riley replied: “Well, that’s what you get. What a damn muppet that guy is.”
In October 2021, Cameron Hanson messaged his wife after attending a sex crime report and also gave her the location. He wrote: “Rape. A man came through a window and raped a woman while her husband was crying like a little bitch.”
David James, representing Cameron Hanson, said his client wanted to apologize to his victims and their families. He added: “He was not emotionally suited to such a difficult and stressful job.”
Speaking on behalf of Kirstie Hanson, Patrick Cassidy said she was ‘deeply ashamed’ and had since taken a university course in law and ethics as ‘a manifestation of her reflective state of mind to learn’.
Patrick Williamson, defending Riley, said she too was embarrassed, adding: “Her family are frankly shocked and annoyed by her behaviour.”
Lancashire Police said all three defendants had resigned from their positions during the course of the investigation.
Det Ch Insp Eugene Swift, from the force’s anti-corruption unit, said: “The behavior of these three individuals has no place in Lancashire Constabulary and is damaging public confidence and trust in the police both locally and national level. My thoughts are with the victims of this crime and I hope that today’s outcome will give them a sense of justice.
“I want to be clear that the vast majority of police officers and police staff in Lancashire follow the law, are respectful and go to work to make a difference in the communities they serve.”
Deputy Chief Constable Sam Mackenzie said: “This case will understandably concern the public and I know that both serving and retired officers and police staff will feel shocked and let down by the behavior of these three individuals.
“For Lancashire Constabulary, each case is one too many and detracts from the hard work and dedication to protecting the public that our police officers and staff demonstrate every day.”