West Midlands officer sentenced and sacked for helping boyfriend who was wanted by police

A West Midlands Police officer has been convicted and dismissed from the force for helping her boyfriend avoid arrest when he was wanted for a serious assault.

Kelly Morris, an initial investigator with Force CID based at Lloyd House, admitted a charge of assisting an offender and at Worcester Crown Court on Friday (2 July) was sentenced to eight months, suspended for 18 months, a 40 day rehabilitation activity requirement and 100 hours unpaid work.

WMP Chief Constable Sir David Thompson chaired an internal panel hearing on 2 December last year where he dismissed Morris from the force with immediate effect.

The court heard Morris’ short-term partner, David Proctor, was wanted for a violent attack on 6 July that left another man with nasty facial injuries.

Proctor’s image was released to the public as part of an appeal to trace the 27-year-old.

Morris – who had worked with with the force for 19 years – knew he was sought but helped him lie low, driving him to hotels, and exchanged 300-plus text messages over the space of a month before they were arrested.

Her car was stopped on 5 August where the 43-year-old, from Redditch, was arrested by West Mercia Police officers. Proctor managed to flee but was caught the next day.

Chief Superintendent Dave Twyford, who heads up West Midlands Police’s Professional Standards Department, said Morris made a big error of judgement with her misplaced loyalty to a crime suspect.

He said: “Morris knew Proctor was sought, she witnessed the assault, but actively helped him avoid arrest. Assisting an offender is a serious crime and Morris has now paid a heavy price for her actions.

“We expect the highest standards of professionalism from all our officers and staff: anyone found to have committed such a serious criminal offence can expect to be dismissed from the force and never work in policing again.”