Suspended term for ex-PC who shared restraint video

Former police constable Charlotte Nelson previously pleaded guilty to the offences

A former police constable who admitted sharing details of arrests and bodycam footage in a personal WhatsApp group has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Charlotte Nelson, 25, had previously admitted three offences after she recorded footage during an incident in Lowestoft where a vulnerable young adult was being restrained in hospital.

She was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, and given a 25-day rehabilitation order and 150 hours of unpaid work.

Nelson resigned from Suffolk Police last September.

Earlier this year, she was barred from serving as an officer after admitting to a disciplinary panel that her actions amounted to gross misconduct.

She recorded the footage on her mobile phone and then shared it on WhatsApp without consent.

The criminal charges she admitted related to misconduct and the access and use of data.

Nelson was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court

Deputy Chief Constable Rob Jones said he recognised "how much it undermines public confidence in policing when someone abuses the trust placed in them as a police officer in this way".

He added: "Suffolk Police take great care with people's personal information, and pride in the standards we uphold in serving the public.

"Charlotte Nelson is barred from ever serving as a police officer again."