Senior Northamptonshire police officer investigated over arrest footage case

A senior police officer is being investigated for allegedly perverting the course of justice in connection with legal action brought against a force that failed to send a woman footage of her arrest.

The Northamptonshire Police officer and two staff members are being investigated after Nadine Buzzard-Quashie complained in 2021 that she had been wrongly arrested by three officers days earlier, and requested to be provided with video from their body-worn cameras.

She then brought legal action against the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, Ivan Balhatchet, after it had not provided all of the footage of her arrest.

In November last year, the force was fined £50,000 after being found to be in contempt of court with Court of Appeal judges saying that it had been “wilfully disobedient” towards court orders for it to hand over the videos.

On Friday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the officer and two police staff members are being investigated criminally in relation to their “engagement with the courts over a legal matter and subsequent statements provided as evidence”.

The three people are also being investigated for potential gross misconduct, the watchdog said.

Ms Buzzard-Quashie claimed the arresting officers physically assaulted her, that she was thrown to the ground and had her face pushed into stinging nettles.

She was taken into custody and charged but the charges were quickly dropped.

An IOPC spokesperson said: “We started an investigation after receiving a voluntary conduct referral from Northamptonshire Police on 19 November 2025 in relation to two police staff members and one senior police officer.

“The referral related to their engagement with the courts over a legal matter and subsequent statements provided as evidence during the proceedings.

“All three have now been served notices that we are investigating them for potential breaches of police professional standards.

“They will be investigated for potential gross misconduct and have also been notified they will be investigated criminally for allegedly perverting the course of justice.

“This does not necessarily mean disciplinary or criminal proceedings will follow. Our enquiries continue.”