Police CCTV operator used cameras to spy on partner

A POLICE CCTV operator used the force's cameras to monitor his partner's movements as part of a campaign of controlling and coercive behaviour, a court has heard.

- JASON EVANS

Russell Hassler also accessed police logs and databases to acquire sensitive material to manipulate the woman and “show off” his power and importance.

Bethan Evans, prosecuting, told the court that 43-year-old Hassler was working as a CCTV operator at Dyfed-Powys Police’s Carmarthen headquarters when the offending happened.

She said Hassler’s partner described him as a “Jekyll and Hyde-type character” whose mood could change quickly, and how she felt like she was always “walking on eggshells around him”.

The court heard the defendant used his position to track his partner's movements in west Wales, and would let her know what he was doing by taking pictures of her and sending them to her. One photo he sent of the woman walking down a street in Newcastle Emlyn was accompanied by the caption “stalked”.