Police officer who pushed his pregnant partner down the stairs and screamed in her face is jailed over years of abuse
A POLICE officer who pushed his pregnant partner down the stairs is behind bars after being found guilty of a string of offences.
Thomas Gair, 29, told his girlfriend Chloe Bradley that he did not want their baby during a prolonged period of mental and physical abuse.
Durham Crown Court heard how the pair got together after meeting on Tinder and began life as a couple in January 2019.
But their relationship gradually declined and Gair subjected the woman, also an officer with Cleveland Police, to a catalogue of assaults.
Ian West, prosecuting, previously told jurors how the pair had got together when Chloe was still living with her parents.
They later moved in with each other before Chloe fell pregnant and in 2021 she had a baby.
Mr West told the court how Chloe initially loved Gair but then things started to change “with the odd insult and controlling behaviour about where she was”.
They stayed together because Chloe loved him and thought he would change, Mr West said, but the abuse “developed” for the worse from verbal to physical.
In the first assault in January 2020 Gair reversed his car into Chloe, causing her to fall and hit the head.
He also pushed her down the stairs and bit her arm on other occasions.
Explaining the car incident, Chloe said in a recorded police interview heard by jurors how she had gone out with her sister before Gair claimed his pal had seen her with another man.
She added: “He showed up outside the bar we were in. In the car ride home he was punching me in the arm and pulling my hair around.”
Once home Gair pushed her out of the car and told her he was “going to run me over” – as she got up he did just that.
Describing the moment, she said: “He reversed back and knocked me absolutely flying. I fell and I think it was the side of my head I landed on but it knocked me out unconscious.”
Chloe also told detectives that he would regularly make comments about their unborn child, including that he didn’t want it and she should get an abortion.
She said he isolated her from her pals, forced her to eat until she was sick, called her infertile, mocked her over her size and commented on her weight after a previous miscarriage, the court heard.
After one particular row about the pregnancy, Chloe told how she was pushed from the top of the stairs at their home as Gair “shouted and screamed in my face”.
She said: “I hit my head twice and that knocked me out. When I woke up he was panicking saying, ‘Get up get up get up'”.
Gair eventually called 111 and Chloe was treated for concussion at hospital.
The court heard that the pair both made a decision to join Cleveland Police in 2021 and their applications were successful.
Mr West explained that Chloe hoped things between them would improve due to their new occupations but the behaviour continued.
The allegations came to light after a colleague of Bradley spotted messages sent by Gair on her phone.
He reversed back and knocked me absolutely flying. I fell and I think it was the side of my head I landed on but it knocked me out unconscious
Chloe Bradley on the moment she was run over by her boyfriend
Other trainees began to notice she was in fear of Gair, due to his treatment, and even after she left him, he continued to monitor who was visiting her, by observing the CCTV, having changed the password so she had no access to the device.
A third party later reported the matters to a police helpline.
His course of behaviour covered a period of their relationship from February 2019 to January 2022.
Gair pleaded not guilty to charges of controlling or coercive behaviour within an intimate or family relationship, four counts of assault causing her actual bodily harm, one of assault by beating and one of stalking causing serious alarm and distress.
But the jury returned unanimous verdicts on three of the counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, relating to knocking the victim to the ground with a car, pushing her down the stairs and biting her arm.
It also delivered majority guilty verdicts on controlling and coercive behaviour and the stalking charges.
Following the guilty verdicts Gair was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on April 24.
He was kicked out the force on March 17 this year as they seek to bar him from ever joining again – he never served the public during his time as a cop.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.