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Guest Character Profiles > Sophie Cooper Emma Moore

Senior Constable Sophie Cooper 2007
Born: c. 1979/'80
Occupation: Police Senior Constable

When Adam Rhodes, formerly a British policeman, decided to apply to the Australian force to gain residency in the country, he was immediately thrust into a potentially dangerous situation as he arrived at the station to fill in his application. As Senior Constable Sophie Cooper and another officer brought in Shane Brooks, who'd broken his parole by stealing a wallet, a tussle began and Adam spotted Shane about to swipe Sophie's gun. Adam quickly stepped in and got Shane in a headlock, saving the day and impressing Sophie, who was pleased to learn that he was planning to join up. Later that day, Sophie called Adam to tell him that they'd be happy to take him on, but first he would have to have a series of psychological exams, since he had quit the British police force, and his home country, due to the death of his old partner, Catherine.

Not long after, Constable Cooper took a statement from Richard Aaronow, who was claiming that his estranged son Declan had tried to kill him. Meanwhile, Declan arrived at the station with his mum, Rebecca, who had, after 17 years, decided to report the fact that Richard had raped her, resulting in Declan's conception. As Rebecca gave her statement to Sophie, she was warned that, if it went to court, she was in for a rough ride, but Sophie also admitted that she thought what Rebecca was doing was very brave. She then went and told Richard that, in light of new reports, he should probably go away and rethink his allegations against Declan and, in the meantime, stay well away from Rebecca. Within weeks, Constable Cooper received a complaint from Rebecca that Richard had been hanging around, even applying for the job of principal at Declan's school. Sophie was forced to tell them that nothing Richard had done could constitute "threatening behaviour" but advised them all to keep a diary of any encounters with him. She went on to explain that her boss had been forced to reject Rebecca's rape allegations, since there was no evidence and it would be almost impossible to prove.

A few days later, Rebecca, her boyfriend Paul Robinson, and Declan, went away to the country for a few days, with Richard not far behind. As Rebecca collected wood for the fire, Richard confronted her and, as he went to grab her, she pushed him back, he slipped and banged his head. At the hospital, Richard remained unconscious, while the doctors informed the stunned Napiers that he was in end-stage renal failure and only had weeks to live unless they could find a kidney donor. Sophie then arrived to get a statement from Rebecca, who explained everything, insisting that she would never deliberately hurt anyone like that, not even Richard. Meanwhile, Sophie was pleased to hear that Adam had passed his entry tests and would be joining her at the local station as her partner. But as she tracked him down to tell him, there was an immediate animosity between her and Adam's girlfriend, Pepper Steiger, whom Sophie insisted on addressing by her real name of Heidi. It seemed that the girls already knew each other from high school, but Pepper was unwilling to talk to Adam about why there was no love lost between them.

Sophie and Adam soon found themselves working closely together when Paul confessed to the murder of Gus Cleary, committed at Lassiter's three years earlier. Since Paul had recently undergone neurosurgery and was suffering from confusing flashbacks of his past, the police were unwilling to take the matter further. Meanwhile, Sophie and Adam were starting to enjoy each other's company more and more, and Pepper was growing increasingly jealous, but still refused to tell Adam the truth about Sophie's bullying, and matters were made worse when Pepper was diagnosed with cervical dysplasia and, following a minor operation, was unable to have sex with Adam for four weeks. When Adam then invited Sophie to a dinner party being held at number 30, Pepper's lack of self-confidence spilt over as she started drinking and became abusive towards Sophie, leaving Adam wondering whether he was dating a maniac. Pepper struggled to explain her behaviour but, after repeated apologies, Adam forgave her and realised how low her self-esteem was following her operation and problems being taken seriously by the senior teachers at work. Pepper also apologised to Sophie, who agreed to put the whole mess behind them, but still found it difficult to see Adam and Pepper together. After catching Declan involved in an illegal drag race, Adam and Sophie dished out a severe warning to him, and later chatted about what a great team they made at work. Unfortunately, Sophie misread the signals and kissed Adam, who quickly pulled away and later relayed the story to Pepper. At the bar, Pepper confronted Sophie about her bullying and her attempts to steal Adam, just as she'd tried to steal Pepper's boyfriend, Kevin Casey in high school. Sophie insisted that she and Kevin were just friends, sharing a love of St Kilda football team, and that the only reason she'd kissed Adam was because she was jealous of the way he and Pepper were so perfect for each other. She told Pepper that she was lonely, with no boyfriend and just a cat for company, and, despite everything that had happened in high school, she could see that Pepper was now one of life's winners, with a great job, wonderful friends and a secure relationship.

Their personal issues behind them, Adam and Sophie were on hand to investigate when 16-year-old Bridget Parker was run down. When young Mickey Gannon, Bridget's cousin, came forward and said that he'd seen Declan Napier's car driving away from the scene, Declan was tracked down. He insisted that he was innocent and he'd never hurt Bridget, but the spare key to the car was found in his pocket and things looked bad for him. As Adam and Sophie walked him to the police car, he managed to break free and escape. A full scale search began, but as it was going on, Susan Kinski arrived at the police station and explained to Sophie that she had been the driver who'd knocked Bridget down, having blacked out whilst borrowing Declan's car. After giving a statement, Susan was kept in custody overnight, before being released the following morning on bail. Meanwhile, Declan had disappeared, and it later turned out that he'd been kidnapped by Nick Thompson and Laura Davidson. Laura was Gus' sister, and the pair were determined to make Paul pay for his murder, hoping to get money out of Rebecca's older son, and Declan's brother, Oliver. Though Nick told them not to contact the police, Paul went against their wishes, and Sophie and Adam became involved. After tracing one of the calls, the police found out the area where Nick and Laura were keeping Declan tied up in a caravan, and later, Nick called, telling Oliver exactly where to take the $500,000 for the exchange. Paul told them to leave it to the police now, but Oliver and Rebecca decided to make the exchange on their own, worried that Nick would hurt Declan if he saw the police. However, Paul caught them leaving the house and insisted on going with them, then, as Sophie was picking up Adam for work and telling him about her decision to apply to become a detective, they saw Oliver, Rebecca and Paul getting into the car and decided to follow. At the drop-off point, everyone waited for Nick to arrive, with the police poised to pounce when he did. But when he did turn up, Oliver and Rebecca quickly realised that the shorter figure in the car with Nick was actually Laura, and Declan was missing. As Nick and Laura were arrested, the police began a search, and Laura agreed to show them where they last saw Declan. As night fell, the police started to pack up, but Rebecca was determined to find her son and eventually she, Paul and Oliver found him by some railway lines, where he'd collapsed having injured his leg.

Several weeks later, Sophie appeared in court to give evidence at Susan's trial. Lawyer Toadie Rebecchi made light of her claims that Susan had hit Bridget with a great deal of force, when she admitted that there were no witnesses to the actual accident, and were only basing their findings on Bridget's injuries and the damage to the car. A couple of weeks later, Susan's health had worsened since the trial, and Sophie found her in the car park of the local shopping centre, where she had suddenly gone blind and was confused and unable to find her way around, almost getting hit by a car. Sophie called an ambulance and sat with Susan until her daughter, Libby got there, then Susan was taken to hospital where, after several rounds of tests, she was diagnosed with MS.

Episodes Featured
5276, 5283, 5289, 5291, 5299, 5302, 5303, 5310, 5313, 5314, 5315, 5316, 5317, 5319, 5320, 5339, 5348

Biography by Steve

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