Police sergeant ‘sent crime scene pictures to partner in intimidation campaign’

Officer for Greater Manchester Police shares more than 40 graphic images to ‘coerce and control’ girlfriend of five years

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A police officer sent his girlfriend a series of gruesome crime scene photographs as part of a campaign of “control and intimidation”, a court has heard.
Richard Proctor, a sergeant with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), sent Natalie Bamford more than 40 graphic images of crime scenes and victims during their five-year relationship.
Proctor was sacked from GMP for gross misconduct in April last year after being fined £880 by magistrates in 2022, when he pleaded guilty to misusing the force’s computer system.
Now Ms Bamford, 38, is suing the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police for damages, holding him vicariously responsible for his employee’s actions.
Details of the former officer’s campaign of intimidation can be revealed for the first time after lawyers filed documents in the High Court outlining his behaviour.
Proctor searched GMP’s database to find details of criminals and upsetting photographs of crime scenes, which he then forwarded to Ms Bamford. She says that he used the “salacious and gruesome details” of police investigations to “manipulate and intimidate her”.
Ms Bamford, from Manchester, said Proctor used the images in an attempt to show that he could act unlawfully and without consequence whenever he wished.
Her legal team at Irvings Law stated in their documents: “Throughout the course of their relationship between around February 2015 and January 2020 [Ms Bamford] was the victim of coercive and controlling behaviour by Mr Proctor.” 
The team said Proctor shared “salacious and gruesome details of police investigations … demonstrating that he was willing to act unlawfully, without consequence … emphasising his power and status and, by extension, the harm he was capable of causing her”.
They add: “The intention behind the entirety of Mr Proctor’s misfeasance was to coerce and control, strengthening his ability to manipulate her, which he could only achieve by injuring her self-confidence and causing her anxiety and distress.”
During his campaign of intimidation, Proctor also tried to isolate Ms Bamford from her mother and her mother’s partner, falsely claiming the partner had a history of domestic violence and sending inappropriate messages to an underage girl.
He also tried to alienate Ms Bamford from her aunt and uncle by falsely claiming the aunt had a history of shoplifting and falsely claiming her uncle’s history included child offences.
Ms Bamford, who works in property, told The Telegraph: “It was very distressing. I had never been involved with a police officer before and I trusted what he told me.
“By sending me intimate information about criminals and cases he wanted me to know that he had a lot of power. I started to feel threatened by him sending me this unwanted material.”
Ms Bamford said the experience had left her “still unable to trust the police to this day”. She added: “I don’t know if they’re going to help me or cause me issues. This is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.”
Proctor, who joined the police in 2005, is also accused of having left another woman in fear that if she upset him he would take advantage of his status as a police officer to harm her or her friends and family.
Police launched an investigation after they were contacted by the two women, who had got in touch with each other through Facebook in October 2019 and shared details of the coercive and controlling behaviour they claimed to have suffered.
Ms Bamford and her fellow alleged victim, who does not want to be named, said Proctor had intimate knowledge of their vulnerabilities as a result of his long-term relationships with them.
The women are seeking damages of £50,000 each from GMP for psychiatric injury, distress and financial loss as a result of breaches of data protection law, misuse of private information and misfeasance in public office.
The court will hear that they both suffered generalised anxiety disorder and will both need cognitive behavioural therapy to help them recover.
Speaking in mitigation at his disciplinary hearing Proctor apologised for his actions, which he said were carried out under “duress” to prevent the loss of his son after he broke up with the child’s mother.
He said he had since been diagnosed with acute stress and anxiety, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, adding: “I made a mistake and I’m sincerely sorry for what I have done.”
GMP said they could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings, but sources emphasised that they were still determined to “root out and boot out” corruption from within their ranks.