Officer dismissed after gross misconduct hearing

A sergeant has been dismissed from Nottinghamshire Police after attempting to form a relationship with a victim of crime.

Sergeant Nicholas Sakkal-Appleby, who was a police constable at the time, was found guilty of gross misconduct at a public hearing on Monday 14 August.

Between 19 January 2012 and 3 March 2012, it was found that his conduct breached the standards of professional behaviour.

Sakkal-Appleby had attended the address of a victim of domestic violence in January 2012 .

Following this, Sakkal-Appleby continued to contact the victim despite having no involvement in the case.

Nottinghamshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate carried out a thorough investigation in response to a recent public complaint.

The hearing heard the officer’s behaviour was inappropriate as contact was not for policing purposes and was done with the aim of establishing an improper relationship with her.

The hearing heard Sakkal-Appleby was remorseful and his actions were out of character.

Sakkal-Appleby was dismissed at an accelerated misconduct hearing and will now be placed on the College of Policing barred list, meaning he cannot work in policing again.

Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “This was completely unacceptable. He was in a position of trust and quite rightly the public do not expect this behaviour from officers.

“The public should have complete trust and confidence in the police, and this officer’s actions fell well below the extremely high standards we set.

“The vast majority of our employees maintain the highest possible professional standards which makes it all the more important we address instances where individuals’ behaviour has fallen short of these expectations."