Two police officers who were under investigation by the IOPC over the death of a Hartlepool Man in custody have been told they will face no further action, amidst claims locals are witnessing one of the worst cover-ups in Teessides history...
30th Jan 2025
Two Cleveland Police officers who were under investigation following the death of a Hartlepool man in custody in 2023 have been informed they will face no further action—sparking claims of a cover-up at one of Teesside’s most controversial police forces.
No official disclosure of the IOPC report, yet it miraculously found its way into the Hands of a Hartlepool Mail Journalist !
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) initially told a journalist from Durham & Teesside Today that there would be no disclosure of the investigation report into the death of Hartlepool man Stephen Stead, allegedly due to the absence of an inquest.
However, the report somehow made its way into the hands of a journalist working for The Hartlepool Mail, who subsequently published an article stating that the two police officers involved had been absolved of any responsibility.
The Arrest and Allegations of Excessive Force
Mr. Stead was arrested in June 2023 as part of Cleveland Police’s failed Operation Artemis, a campaign aimed at tackling organised crime across the region.
Stead was reportedly stopped in a white transit-style vehicle in the towns Whitby Street in Hartlepool during what police described as a “spot check” after claims surfaced the vehicle was reportedly being driven without a valid road tax. Witnesses allege that a dispute then broke out between Mr. Stead and one of the officers at the scene, with video evidence reportedly showing two officers laying in as many as three punches into Steads chest and Stomach whilst forcibly removing him from the vehicle. He was then bundled into a police van and transported to custody.
The tale of the disappearing video footage !
Just hours later, at Middlesbrough Custody Suite, Mr. Stead allegedly “became unwell” and subsequently died. Cleveland Police reported itself to the IOPC almost immediately, but crucial video footage published online by the Hartlepool Mail mysteriously disappeared from social media and has never resurfaced.
A Year-Long Battle for Answers...
Durham & Teesside Today, which operates the social media page Cleveland Police Exposed, spent nearly a year attempting to gain access to the IOPC report, after multiple witnesses came forward to share their accounts of the incident, accounts which caste a very different picture of the events which led up to Mr Steads death & prompted us to undertake our own independent investigation.
After being informed that the IOPC had completed its investigation into the actions of Cleveland Police on that day, we formally requested a copy of the report. However, the IOPC outright refused to disclose any part of it, citing concerns that its release could “prejudice any future inquest” into Mr. Stead’s death—even whilst acknowledging that their investigation into Cleveland Polices actions on that day had concluded.
After exhausting legal avenues, we escalated our request to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). However, just days later, the report was conveniently leaked to Hartlepool Mail journalist Mark Payne, who published an article declaring that the IOPC report had cleared the two officers of any wrongdoing in Mr. Stead’s death.
Accusations of a Coordinated Cover-Up at an organisation already facing questions over its apparent 'extremist activities'...
In response, we've now submitted a formal complaint to the IOPC, accusing them of deliberately withholding the report from our publication whilst selectively leaking it to a larger mainstream media outlet. This decision raises serious concerns of misconduct in a public office by the IOPC, amidst allegations which have surfaced claiming that the IOPC & the Hartlepool Mail were specifically tasked with ensuring the report never went anywhere that any smaller publication network could paint Cleveland Police in a negative light...
Despite the IOPC’s findings and the questionable manner in which the report reached the mainstream press, its refusal to share it with independent investigative journalists only raises further suspicions about corruption at one of Teessides most organised criminal gang. . Many now believe that the IOPC, Cleveland Police, and Hartlepool Mail are engaged in a coordinated effort to protect Cleveland Police’s reputation at a time when the force is repeatedly making headlines for misconduct and corruption.
Is this yet another example of a powerful institution controlling the narrative to save face?
Given Cleveland Police’s deeply troubled history, the public seems to think so & it's cost the life of a local man in the process.....
Have Your Say
What do you think?, Is this a cover-up by Cleveland Police, the IOPC, and a complicit mainstream media? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or share this article to keep the pressure on those in power.
Are Cleveland Police, the IOPC & a local newspaper engaged in a cover up to protect the forces reputation ?
YES
NO