WA Police Force constable Cassandra Chapman tragically dies

EXCLUSIVE 

A courageous police officer who stepped in to stop a colleague from physically assaulting a young woman has tragically lost her life in a scuba diving accident.

First Class Constable Cassandra Chapman was off-duty and enjoying a dive at Trigg Beach, in Perth’s northwest, on Tuesday when she got into trouble at about 10.30am.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after beachgoers raised the alarm that she was in distress, but despite their best efforts, she could not be saved.

Unconfirmed reports suggest she became trapped beneath a ledge while underwater.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal Constable Chapman, who was aged in her 40s, was a well-respected member of the WA Police Force.

Last year, she was embroiled in a high-profile trial after her superior, First Class Constable Alister Swift, was charged with assault after dragging and kicking a woman during an unlawful arrest.

The incident occurred in 2020 when two constables were called to a domestic violence incident at a Cloverdale home, in Perth’s east, which involved a man and a woman.

Police had been speaking to the man about whether he wanted a protective order in place against the woman, who then became abusive towards Swift.

Police are pictured at Trigg Beach in Perth after Constable Chapman encountered trouble in the water 

Swift decided to make an arrest, pushing the woman into a bedroom and applying handcuffs, only for Constable Chapman to take them off her and help her wash her hands and face.

Swift then again put her in handcuffs and pushed the woman up against her partner’s car.

Constable Chapman reproached him over his behaviour, saying: ‘what are you doing?’ and ‘You’re out of line.’

Swift then kicked the woman while trying to get her into a police vehicle. When Constable Chapman pulled him up on it, he responded: ‘Do as I say, I am your superior.’

Swift, who was charged when Constable Chapman complained about his behaviour, was sentenced to two years in jail after being found guilty by a jury of assault occasioning bodily harm and deprivation of liberty.

During his sentencing hearing in November, Judge Mara Barone praised Constable Chapman for putting her career on the line to testify against her colleague, saying she had upheld society’s expectations of how a police officer should behave.

‘Officer Chapman does not deserve your derision. She did not deserve it on the day and she does not deserve it now,’ Judge Barone told Swift.

‘Officer Chapman did exactly what the community expects of a police officer. You did the opposite.’

Her actions were also lauded by members of the public, with one person writing online: ‘What kind of miracle has occurred for a police officer like Cassandra Chapman to exist.

Constable Chapman was a beloved member of the Collie PCYC before leaving in April to chase her ‘dream job’

Emergency services including police and surf lifesavers rushed to the scene after an alarm was raised that the woman was in distress (pictured police and visitors to the beach at the scene)

‘Need thousands more like her and none like Alister Swift.’

In more recent years, Constable Chapman had been an active member of the community in Collie, a town of 7,600 people situated 186km south of Perth.

A local news article from April last year shows her pictured alongside someone in an Easter Bunny costume as they prepared to go hand out Easter eggs around the town.

She also served as the Youth Policing Officer for Collie PCYC, where she took part in events and accompanied children on excursions.

In April this year, the PCYC announced she was leaving to take on her ‘dream job in forensics’ and would be ‘sadly missed by our staff and young people’. 

Tributes have begun pouring in online for Constable Chapman, who has been remembered as a ‘lovely person’.

‘She was more than a First Class Constable, she was a first class person with an infectious smile and a great heart,’ one person said.

In a statement regarding Chapman’s death, WA Police said the tragedy had hit her colleagues hard.

‘Our thoughts and deepest condolences are extended to her family and colleagues,’ the force said.

‘Attending to life and death situations is a daily reality for first responders but incidents involving one of our own are especially difficult for our officers.’