Disgraced police officer jailed for sharing images of corpse

Despite the advice of his family, Wood recorded and took photos of bodycam footage and statements to show off his police work to family and close friends. The most serious cases saw Wood share material about a reported rape of a child and in addition, take photos of Paul Wells, who was found stabbed to death in the garden of his home in Highbridge on June 25, 2020.

Wood's disclosure of private and sensitive information from police investigations was eventually uncovered in October 2020 when officers requested to see his mobile phones for an unrelated matter. His victims were identified and shocked by Wood's conduct, leaving Paul Wells' family particularly hurt and angry.

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Woods used his personal mobile phone to capture images and video of bodycam footage from his work laptop at his home in Bridgwater. He would share the material with various WhatsApp groups and contacts in a bid to show off his actions.

The prosecutor Richard Posner told Exeter Crown Court: "The seriousness of the defendant's action would not be lost on him because he knew he should not be sharing such information. He had undertaken training on August 31, 2018, reminding him about the need to protect personal data and there are clear reminders of his legal obligations when accessing Avon and Somerset Police computer systems.

"But the defendant's actions were very serious because they constituted a significant breach of the protected rights and freedoms of those individuals' sensitive data, including images. These were knowingly and intentionally shared with recipients who weren't authorised to know about or see them."

Wood would share the material with his close contacts and messaged them: "You need to delete this as soon as you've watched it" or "You must delete after watching it". Describing one case where he responded to a domestic incident of a man refusing to leave a female's home, he quipped: "An average day. Video on its way. Don't share".

The most serious offence saw Wood respond to the death of Paul Wells at a property, in Highbridge, on June 25, 2020. As part of the investigation, Wood was asked to take photos of Wells' body to be uploaded to the police system. Wood did this and, months later, in August 2020, used his personal phone to illegally share some of the legitimate material he had captured with family and friends.

He was advised to delete the photos by his family, with one replying: "You should delete it off your phone". Wood used the opportunity to discuss how policing was affecting him.

His family had been concerned about Wood sharing confidential material and previously challenged him. On a previous occasion, Wood shared material surrounding an incident where a man assaulted a boy and his partner on December 31, 2019. Wood's concerned family member said: "Don't send any more, I'm always worried that they will be intercepted or you send them to someone else by mistake".

Wood replied: "WhatsApp is scrambled and impossible to intercept but ok!"

The court heard Wood's crimes were uncovered when his personal mobile phone, work phone and laptop were taken by police in relation to an unconnected matter on October 9, 2020. Knowing police would likely uncover his old messages, Wood later used Google to research about police misconduct, what police can recover from mobile devices and if police can access deleted social media messages.

On November 6, 2020, police informed Wood they had discovered images of Wells' body on his devices and served him with a formal notice he was being investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He voluntarily attended two police interviews, but made no comment to the force. He left the force in 2021.

The victims who were contacted by Avon and Somerset Police were left confused and disgusted by Wood's actions. A family member, who had travelled along with her family to Exeter Crown Court, read out a moving victim impact statement.

She said: "We are hurt. We are angry. We would like Wood to know that he has hurt our family more than he can comprehend.

"We cannot have closure because of his actions. It is a nightmare we will have to live with for the rest of our lives.

"These images were very private and have never even been seen by our family. We cannot be sure they will not be shared again. You have broken our trust and faith and broken the trust of the police force."

Wood, of Bridgwater, pleaded guilty to three charges of misconduct in public office between December 13, 2018 until August 31, 2020.

In mitigation, Simon Burns cited a psychiatric report which stated Wood was "unsuited" to be a police officer. Wood had a "limited ability" to internally process stress, as well as issues with alcohol. He struggled with anxiety, depression and previously attempted suicide. He added Wood's motivation for sharing the material was to demonstrate to people he knew and could be trusted with the challenges of policing, while struggling with his own wellbeing

In a letter to the court, Wood wrote: "I am writing to express my sincere apologies and regret regarding my actions whilst a police officer with Avon and Somerset Police force, sharing images of individuals who are involved or are victims of crime. This was totally wrong and I'm left with deep feelings of shame, remorse and regret.

"I did not fully understand at the time how badly affected I was by many of the incidents that I've attended during my short period of service and only wish that I had sought professional help."

In a separate letter to Paul Well's family, he wrote: "The reason why I'm contacting you is to sincerely and unconditionally apologise for the extra suffering my thoughtless and inconsiderate actions have caused your family and also to try and explain my unexpected, unacceptable conditions."

Judge James Adkin said the number of incidents showed this was a habit of Wood and "not a one-off and described sharing images of Mr Wells as "abhorrent" and the impact of which was "grossly distressing" and added to the family's anguish. He said while there may have been occasions Wood was seeking support in sharing details of incidents with family and friends, at others he was just seeking personal validation.

His Honour told Wood: "My view is that the defendant's actions were extremely serious - not only because you action in breach of the trust reposed in you by the police and by society, to safeguard confidential sensitive material, but you also shared that material to members of the public."

Wood was sentenced to 22 months in prison and is expected to serve half his term in prison, with the remainder to be served on licence.

Following the sentencing, Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said Wood's actions were "horrific" and reiterated a public apology to those involved for the distress caused. ACC Hall said: "Lewis Wood's horrific actions will rightly shock and disgust members of the public who place their trust with the police, as well as his former colleagues. It has meant the devastated family of Paul Wells have had to endure further pain.

"We are truly sorry for what has happened. We appreciate no words we can offer can make up for the distress this will have unquestionably caused them. From the moment these offences were discovered we have taken them extremely seriously and have sought to bring Wood to account believing his actions were not just misconduct, but indeed criminal and warranted the most robust action possible.

"There is absolutely no place for such criminal misconduct in policing, and we are determined to relentless root out anyone who wilfully disregards that. Failure to tackle poor conduct or drive positive cultural change would be to let down the public, plus the overwhelming majority of people serving in Avon and Somerset who are dedicated professionals who work every day to make their communities safer."