Cops who 'branded suspected domestic violence victim a 'f****** sl**' could face charges

The foul-mouthed rant between the officers in a patrol car was unintentionally recorded on the phone of alleged victim Alex Faragher, 20, and later revealed last February. 

The officers had arrived at her Sutton Coldfield address, last January, to take a statement over alleged domestic violence, but rang her phone when they discovered she was out. 

When it went to answerphone, the expletive-ridden conversation was automatically recorded, according to the allegations.  

One officer is heard saying to his colleague: "F****** bitch, I specifically said: 'You are not going to give us the runaround are you?' 'No, I want to press charges,' she said.

"F****** slag." 

A second officer then allegedly referred to falsifying Ms Faragher's witness statement as they couldn't get hold of her.

He can be heard saying: "Either that or the only other thing we do is go back, f****** draft the statement ourselves and then just get the bitch to sign it." 

Speaking at the time, Ms Faragher said: "When I heard the voicemail I was shellshocked.

"It is very serious and I can't believe they would consider writing my witness statement for me. It's horrifying. I feel so sick and upset at the thought of it.

"What kind of police practice is this? I have lost all faith completely. What happens if I need the police now? I wouldn't want to ring them.

"They can't be trusted. What the officers said was so hurtful, It was like being assaulted all over again, verbally assaulted, just after I had been through a stressful ordeal.

"The policemen verbally assaulted me. It's disgusting and I feel victimised and humiliated."

She said she was sure that if a female officer had been in the car she would not have been called the offensive names allegedly attributed to the two male cops.  

"It is so disrespectful and the police are meant to be in a position of trust and to help, not cause more harm," she added.

"The voicemail made feel angry. I only heard a short bit of the conversation but God knows what else they said about me after the recording stopped.

"The police, who are meant to help and make things better have belittled me and made me feel worthless."

The West Midlands force has now completed an internal investigation into the incident, but some of the findings were rejected by Ms Faragher.

She took an appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) who have upheld her challenge and referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The CPS will now decide if the officers, who are on restricted duties, should face criminal charges.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: "The complaint has been thoroughly investigated by the force's Professional Standards Department and the findings have been shared with the complainant. 

"However, some of the findings were the subject of an appeal to the IPCC who upheld the appeal and recommended the case be referred to the CPS. The CPS investigation is currently underway.

"The officers remain on restricted duties." 

Speaking after she made her complaint to police, Ms Faragher said: "It makes me really angry. I could not believe what I was hearing." 

In a statement at the time, then-Commander of Birmingham North Police, Rachel Jones, apologised for what she described as alleged conduct and said the force expected the highest standards of professionalism from all officers and police staff. 

She added that the incident was being professionally and robustly investigated and the force would take necessary action against officers if appropriate.