A police force has slammed a watchdog’s “flawed” investigation into a control room manager after a mum-of-two was shot by her partner.

Hayley Burke suffered a fatal injury at her Dartford home after her neighbour told a 999 call handler six times the victim’s boyfriend Jacob Cloke had arrived with a handgun.

Force control room manager Inspector Thomas McCall was accused of five counts of gross misconduct after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched a probe into the murder-suicide.

The watchdog raised concerns about how he first sent unarmed patrols to the scene despite a neighbour telling a 999 call handler multiple times Cloke had a gun.

Other allegations included failing to devise an adequate plan, not providing a sufficient briefing to deployed units and failing to adequately record his decision-making.

But last month, a misconduct hearing at Kent Police Headquarters in Maidstone cleared him.

Now, a report approved by the panel chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Pritchard states the IOPC investigation should “never have taken the form of allegations of misconduct”.

The Appropriate Authority’s (AA) counsel accepted his case against Insp McCall had changed by the end of the hearing after fresh evidence emerged.

A report prepared by an independent legal advisor following the hearing states: "The panel is concerned about the flawed and incomplete investigation by the IOPC.

“As a result, the hearing was a voyage of discovery not only for the panel but also for the AA, who seemed to have been finding out about their own case as it went along.”

The panel says it is “worrying” the AA’s expert was “unaware of crucial pieces of information” when he prepared his report and key pieces of evidence were only disclosed during the hearing – while some details were not disclosed at all.

Addressing the AA’s counsel, the report added: “Whilst the panel agreed with him that after an event of this magnitude and tragedy, it is only right and proper there should be an open and honest examination of the actions of all the officers involved, this should never have taken the form of allegations of misconduct against this officer.

“It would not have done so had a proper investigation been completed in the first place and a proper and complete review of the evidence by the IOPC undertaken."

The IOPC told KentOnline it is “disappointed” the panel criticised the watchdog.

“We do not accept that our investigation was flawed or incomplete,” a spokesman said.

“We will conduct a detailed debrief to establish whether we were provided with all relevant information during our investigation and whether there is any learning for us to take forward.

“As an inquest for Hayley Burke and Jacob Cloke has yet to take place, we cannot comment any further at this time.”

Kent Police declined to comment further.

The incident began when Cloke arrived at Hayley’s home in Priory Road at 10.40am on May 6, 2023, ignoring bail conditions not to contact her after previously attacking her.

The AA’s counsel Stephen Morley told the hearing last month a neighbour dialled 999 informing the force there was a man with an injunction at the house.

No one was sent to the home but the situation was escalated two hours later when further 999 calls revealed Cloke had a gun and had been to prison.

The call transcripts revealed the neighbour had mentioned the handgun six times.

Insp McCall noted that he did not have enough information to send armed officers to the scene, but did tactically locate them closer to the scene so they were there to support the unarmed officers at the scene.

Shots were fired when police arrived, and Mr Morely argued the threshold for an armed response – which he described as “a reason to suppose” – was met.

At the hearing, Insp McCall, who wore a formal uniform decorated with medals and was seen breaking down multiple times throughout the five days, says it would be “arrogant” not to accept “with a huge degree of hindsight” he acted poorly that day.

“It is very difficult to accurately review everything I have seen, read, listened to and watched and separate it with hindsight,” he said.

“But in hindsight, I could have made a different decision to the deployment of firearms on the Cad.

“I also recognise it would not have changed the overall outcome and would have been a callout to the house and not the garage to save the two further victims, which were the children.”

Defending counsel James Lloyd says information provided by the informant was “confused, inconsistent and unreliable”.

“Insp McCall wasn’t acting on faith,” he said. “He was acting on facts and that is not something he can bear proper criticism. His approach is endorsed by those who train officers.”

Cloke, 29, took Hayley out of the house to a nearby garage and held her hostage before firearms officers arrived. A negotiator made contact with him and CLoke asked for cigarettes, water, sanitary pads and a blanket.

These requests were refused by McCall and were used to try and convince him to leave the garage.

“Authorised firearms officers are telling him again he is not going to have anything at 4.26pm,” Mr Morley added.

“At 4.39pm, there are gunshots, it all goes horribly wrong and comes to a tragic end.”

Hayley, 36, died on May 8 in King’s College Hospital after a gunshot wound to the head, while Cloke shot himself and died on May 11.

The IOPC launched an investigation and raised concerns about Insp McCall’s handling of the incident.

Five allegations were made against him amounting to alleged gross misconduct.

Insp McCall joined Kent Police in November 2000 and was the force incident manager on May 6, 2023.

He had acted in the control room in more than 40 firearms incidents over the past three years – described as an “experienced officer” and of “good standing and character”.

Insp McCall declined to answer questions relating to the five allegations of gross misconduct when interviewed but set out his account in written documents and at the five-day hearing.

While the force control manager has been cleared, the full findings of the IOPC investigation of how police handled the incident are yet to be published. This is expected to happen following the inquests of both Hayley and Cloke, which have not been heard in full.

Cloke was facing multiple charges relating to abusing Hayley, having been imprisoned for attacking another woman.

In February 2022, he threatened to kill the former pub manager, grabbing her by the throat and causing her to pass out.

Hayley awoke to find Cloke shaking her – he denied attacking her, saying she must have fallen.

Feeling unwell days later, the mum-of-two went to Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford, where a bleed to the brain was discovered.

The couple started going out in December 2020 and were once engaged but the relationship soured after Cloke changed following his time in prison.

Less than three weeks before he fatally shot Hayley, the scaffolder turned up at her home and later that night entered the bedroom, slammed the door and refused to let her out.

He became aggressive and wanted to snatch her puppy – threatening to break its paws – and spat in her face.

Cloke’s criminal career started at 14 when he landed before Medway Juvenile Court and throughout his life served several spells in jail for a raft of wide-ranging offences.

He was imprisoned for two years in 2021 after pleading guilty to assaulting another woman in October the previous year.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how he punched her as she held their two-month-old child and threatened to "put the baby in the ground" if she called police – although a charge of making threats to kill was later dropped.