PC who shared details of high-profile murder in family WhatsApp spared jail

A rookie police officer who disclosed confidential information on Whatsapp about one of Britain’s worst mass shootings and a high-profile murder has avoided prison.

Officer Sam Hill shared information concerning the Keyham shootings in which five people were shot dead by gunman Jake Davison, 22.

Davison killed five people in the Keyham area in August 2021, including his mother and a three-year-old girl.

She also shared information about the murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod, including sensitive details of weapons used and where her body was found.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Hill would access confidential police logs and share information with her family, friends and also within a WhatsApp group.

Sarah Regan, prosecuting, said the offences took place between January and November 2021 while Hill was a probationary officer with Devon and Cornwall Police.

Hill also had a photograph of Cody Ackland, who killed Ms McLeod, on her phone dated several days before Ackland was charged and named publicly for the first time.

Referring to the Keynsham shootings in August 2021, Ms Regan said Hill had shared details from confidential police briefings about the funeral arrangements for the victims.

‘The defendant was not on duty but she had been in the area of the incident, as had some of her family members.

‘In the following days she accessed confidential information about the investigation and she shared it with her sister and WhatsApp group, despite the fact she was a witness, stating that she had seen the attacker and gun, her messages confirmed that she had read the police response log and shared extremely sensitive information from it.’

The court heard Hill shared video clips of interviews she had undertaken with suspects and footage from her body worn camera.

She also disclosed to her family details of the arrest of another family member, and told her mother about an investigation into a GP, and that a paramedic was to be arrested.

Hill, of Plymouth, Devon had previously pleaded guilty to 18 counts of misconduct in a public office. She resigned from the force before she was charged.

Jenny Tallentire, defending, said the reason for Hill’s crimes was ‘very difficult for her to understand and explain.’

‘She was incredibly proud to be a police officer. She threw it away by her immature behaviour,’ Ms Tallentire said.

‘It was behaviour with a lack of thought about the potential consequences of her actions, and sometimes by an impulsive desire to share with those she trusted the sort of interesting things that she was coming across.’

Ms Tallentire said Hill was a single mother caring for two young children, including a baby, and an immediate custodial sentence would have a significant impact on them.

Judge Julian Lambert imposed a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and 240 hours of unpaid work.

Assistant Chief Constable Glen Mayhew said: ‘The officer has clearly fallen very short of the behaviour we expect from our workforce by showing a complete disregard for the rules in place around accessing police records.

‘Pc Hill resigned during the course of this investigation but has today been sentenced of a criminal offence and will face the consequences of her actions.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.