In a shocking turn of events, two South Wales police officers were found guilty of gross misconduct after a bizarre incident in Barry. They reportedly deceived ambulance staff into believing that a woman, who had been dead for weeks, could still be saved. The behind-the-scenes motive? To hustle up an emergency response for a woman who clearly showed no signs of life.
Sgt. Stuart Hunter, who’s now retired, and PC Lisa Thomas, ordered CPR on the decomposed body, showing no regard for the dignity deserved in death. When PC Thomas first arrived at the scene and correctly informed the ambulance service of the woman’s state, the call was classified as ‘non-urgent’. Realising this meant a delay, she later falsely claimed the woman was alive.
The shocking truth emerged when an ambulance control manager lodged a complaint, revealing that the misleading call diverted resources from a patient in cardiac arrest, who later passed away in hospital. The panel later acknowledged that while no direct harm was caused to others waiting for emergencies, the actions were still deemed disgraceful.
Sgt. Hunter, who was the senior officer on site, was confirmed to have knowingly lied to undertakers about a paramedic declaring the woman dead, further exacerbating the situation. Meanwhile, junior officer Adam Ward, under Hunter’s orders, helplessly performed CPR on a corpse, later sharing his distress at being tasked with such a heart-wrenching ordeal.
Although PC Thomas expressed that she felt pressurised, the panel concluded she acted dishonestly alongside Hunter, who retired prior to the misconduct hearing. Despite having a previously clean record, Sgt. Hunter’s actions were termed ‘intentional and deliberate,’ and if still serving, he would have been dismissed. As for PC Thomas, she faced dismissal without notice, a reminder that accountability knows no rank.
This unsettling incident underscores the importance of integrity in law enforcement, especially when dealing with matters of life and death.