A police officer has been dismissed for assaulting her mother in the rear seat of an unfamiliar person’s vehicle after consuming an excessive amount of Fireball cocktails.
PC Leanne Counter repeatedly struck her mother, Julie, after a bystander discovered the inebriated officer and kindly offered to drive them both home.
The Cleveland police officer was in such a state of inebriation from Fireball that she had no recollection of the incident until her father visited her residence the following day, according to reports.
The altercation unfolded following a family Christmas celebration that spiraled into disorder on Boxing Day 2023, after the Counter family had socialized at a pub and returned to PC Counter’s sister’s home in Teesside.
PC Counter’s conduct became so unruly that her sister ejected her from the residence and her mother decided to ensure her safe return home.
They entered a taxi headed for PC Counter’s home, but the officer’s behavior towards her mother was so distressing that the driver chose to leave after they stopped at Wolviston service station in County Durham.
According to Cleveland Police’s Mark Ley-Morgan, PC Counter shouted: ‘What kind of mother are you, f*** off, you never say anything nice about me.’
The taxi driver threatened to contact law enforcement, to which Mrs. Counter responded: ‘She’s a police officer.’
PC Counter exclaimed: ‘You have ruined my cover’ and later insulted her mother by calling her a ‘c***.’
It was during their abandonment at the service station that they crossed paths with Lewis Failes and his brother-in-law, Mark.
In a statement to the police disciplinary committee, Mr. Failes described: ‘I was approached at the service station by an older woman in her mid to late fifties. A younger female was yelling at her and the older woman was attempting to calm her down.
‘Both appeared to have been drinking, but the younger woman was significantly more intoxicated. I remember the older woman telling her that she would face consequences if she did not compose herself. She requested a lift because her daughter had become a police officer, and she wanted to avoid further trouble.’
Mr. Failes obliged and began driving along the A19 towards Middlesbrough with his brother-in-law as a passenger.
During the trip, he could hear PC Counter being disrespectful to her mother and perceived the car was ‘bouncing.’
He noted: ‘She had shifted across the back seat to reach her mother. Mark got up and moved to the back seat. I was about to pull over and eject them; I had only owned the car for a couple of days and didn’t want it damaged.’
Julie Counter sustained a cut beneath her nostril, a swollen left cheekbone, and bruises on her forearm, which she had raised in an attempt to protect herself.
She conveyed to police investigators: ‘I have been crying because it was my daughter who attacked me. I cannot even face Leanne.’
PC Counter was taken into custody on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm and responded with ‘no comment’ to all inquiries. No criminal charges have been pressed regarding the event.
The morning after the assault, PC Counter texted a police colleague to express: ‘I am not on good terms with my family,’ attributing her inability to recall the assault to the Fireball drinks she had consumed.
During the inquiry, she was questioned about whether this had been an isolated incident, and PC Counter admitted that on a prior occasion, she had placed her father’s girlfriend in a headlock during ‘a dispute.’
Mr. Ley-Morgan stated that the attack violated the standards anticipated of police officers and constituted discreditable conduct that constituted gross misconduct and warranted the immediate termination of PC Counter.
He remarked: ‘Mr. Failes, his passenger, and the taxi driver were all aware that she was a police officer. It would concern any reasonable member of the public that an officer could not manage their alcohol consumption and then resorts to violence when intoxicated.’
Paul Crowley, representing PC Counter, present at the hearing, stated: ‘She has maintained her account that she does not recall the incident. She was distressed and deeply apologetic when her father discussed it with her.
‘She is heartbroken and does not recognize the behaviors that have been attributed to her and has never denied that alcohol consumption played a role. This behavior is entirely out of character; she has a spotless record in terms of criminal conduct.’
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