Chief Constable issues staunch defence of DCI John Caldwell

THE North’s most senior police officer has staunchly defended a well-known Tyrone detective after allegations contained in a recent BBC documentary looking into the Katie Simpson murder case.

Speaking at last Thursday’s meeting of the NI Policing Board, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said he wanted to correct some public perceptions regarding DCI John Caldwell after the airing of the Spotlight programme called ‘Katie: Coerced and Killed’.

In the documentary, it was alleged that DCI Caldwell, who survived an attempt on his life outside Omagh last year, was resistant to investigating the death of the talented showjumper in August 2020. Her murderer, Jonathan Creswell, initially claimed that she had taken her own life.

While the Chief Constable acknowledged that the police had got things wrong and there had been ‘shortcomings’ in the initial stages of the investigation, he gave his full backing to DCI Caldwell.

Mr Boutcher said, “The programme was disparaging and, in my view, damaging to his professional reputation and, in turn, public confidence in the police. Comments included in the programme were also not reflective of the facts, having read the material.

“John’s not subject to misconduct proceedings and he did not conduct the role of senior investigating officer at any stage in relation to the case.

“In my view, probably the primary reason for the attention on Mr Caldwell is because he’s a known public figure for very, very sad and tragic reasons.”

The senior detective, who is from Beragh, is still recovering after he was shot outside Youth Sport Omagh in February last year. He had been coaching an underage football team.

Earlier this summer, it was announced that DCI Caldwell had received the King’s Police Medal (KPM) in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

The Chief Constable continued, “Use of his name and perceived role was considered interesting to the public, rather than in discharging any public interest.

“It’s unfortunate this issue distracts from the tragic death of Katie and the important lessons that can be properly learned and will be learned by police and other authorities.

“I’ve been assured by the Police Ombudsman as recently as yesterday that John is not subject to any misconduct proceedings.

“If anyone has issues about police officers’ actions, there are statutory, independent frameworks to investigate such issues. Let them do their work.”

Mr Boutcher added, “Speak to me, I’ll make sure that there’s no cover-ups and when we’ve got things wrong, we’ll put them right.”