Fareham police officer Tyler Atkins who assaulted ex-girlfriend Chloe Shannon caught after Alexa recorded him cancelling 999 call

A police officer from Fareham who assaulted his girlfriend was caught after an Amazon Alexa recorded him cancelling her 999 call.

Chloe Shannon, 28, and PC Tyler Atkins, 25, dated for nine months, and after they split up, he came to her home and attacked her.

The trainee officer took her phone and slammed her arm into the door.

Unable to call for help herself, Chloe asked her Amazon Alexa device to contact emergency services. But in the recording, Atkins can be heard telling Alexa to stop.

Chloe said she was "worried" she wouldn't be believed because her former partner was an officer with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and feared the case would come down to her word against his.

But when officers learnt of the recording of the attack in Botley in December last year, they told her it could be used as evidence in her case, providing proof for her account of the assault.

Chloe, a marketer from Southampton, said she had no idea the smart speaker had captured part of the confrontation.

She added: "I didn't know every time you say the word Alexa, it records what you say after it. I said, 'Alexa, call 999,' and he said, 'Alexa, no. Alexa, stop’. And then he says, 'No, don't do this,' which I think is aimed at me, as in don't call the police."

Atkins was consequently convicted of assault by beating, while he was off-duty, and was dismissed from the police without notice last week.

Chloe said: "I was just worried that he would know the right thing to say, or, him being an officer, he would be believed over me because he's got the reputation.

"You are always thinking whether you are going to be believed, but when it's someone who is supposed to protect you and protect others in those situations, it's worrying. I was also worried that if he wasn't found guilty or didn't lose his job, that he might put someone else in this situation."

Their relationship had appeared normal with "no red flags", Chloe explained.

But after they split up, Atkins came to her home and accused her of speaking to other people straight after the break-up.

She said: "It turned into a bit of an argument. He grabbed my phone and ran around my flat. I tried to get it back off of him, and that's when he slammed my arm in the door."

Although she did not suffer lasting injuries, Chloe said the incident was painful and completely unexpected.

She said: "I didn't have any injuries from it, like bruises or anything, but it hurt. I think I was just shocked, to be honest, that he was doing it."

Chloe was reluctant to report the assault, as part of her concern was that Atkins was himself a serving police officer.

She added: "I was concerned about him as well because I just thought there's no way someone can do this to someone they claim to love when there's nothing wrong in their own head."

Eventually, encouraged by family and friends, she decided to contact Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police.

She said: "I realised I've got to put myself first and not worry about him and his job and realise that actually it's the consequence of his own actions, not mine."

The case took a significant turn when investigators asked about recordings stored by the Amazon Alexa device in her home. Hearing that the recording existed gave her renewed confidence that the case would be taken seriously.

She said: "It gave me a bit of hope because I thought, 'well, you can't deny that that is your voice on a recording saying no, telling it not to call the police, basically, when you're a police officer yourself'."

After an investigation and court proceedings, Chloe saw her former boyfriend convicted and sentenced. She said the court proceedings took a significant emotional toll.

"It consumed a lot of my mind and a lot of my life," she said. "There were times when I just wouldn't sleep. There were days when I was walking around the car park at two o'clock in the morning thinking I was genuinely going insane."

Atkins, 25, from Fareham, was convicted of assault by beating in Brighton Magistrates' Court on September 22. The court found the injury occurred as a result of a single reckless act when closing a door during an argument. Atkins said he was retreating from a confrontation when the door was closed and that it was not a deliberate assault.

After his conviction, Atkins faced an accelerated misconduct hearing on November 3, where all allegations against him were proven.

The panel found that his actions amounted to gross misconduct and a breach of the standards of professional behaviour regarding discreditable conduct.

As a result, Atkins was dismissed without notice and placed on the barred list. He was handed a 12-month community order and will have to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

Atkins was also ordered to pay £650 in costs and £114 in victim surcharge.

Chloe said: "Seeing him and seeing his lack of empathy and remorse for what he's done, and just being more concerned that he's lost his job than he's actually traumatised someone else, just really made me able to move on."

She hopes that speaking publicly about her experience will encourage other victims to come forward and may also raise awareness of how smart home devices can provide crucial evidence.

"I know there are a lot of women and men who do have it daily and have it worse," she said. "I think the majority of us have these smart devices in our home, but we don't really know how much they can be used. If it can save someone else in a scenario like this, then that would be great."

Chloe has used her social media to share her feelings since the incident, as she felt "really alone."

She added: "I've had so many messages from people who have gone through the same or are going through the same. You see the statistics every day, but I think going through it yourself and then seeing it really does change your mindset on it and just makes you want to educate people and make people feel less alone."

Chloe's TikTok can be found here: https://www.tiktok.com/@chloemayshannon