Former police constable resigned after abusing his position while off-duty

A former police constable who resigned from the force would have been found guilty of misconduct for abusing his position while off-duty. 

PC Fraser Beresford was off-duty and on a night out with colleagues when he approached bar staff just after 2am and ordered a drink on April 27 last year.

The bar staff member refused to serve him due to his level of intoxication.

PC Beresford refused to accept this, and it was found that he used demeaning and threatening language towards her.

It was found he used words to the effect of ‘I’m a police officer, you are going to regret that and you ought to watch yourself.’

PC Beresford was escorted out of the bar by security.

Two police officers in the group approached bar staff to apologise and provided the details of PC Beresford and advised her to report the incident to police.

Nottinghamshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate carried out a thorough investigation into the incident which included witness statements and viewing CCTV.

A gross misconduct hearing was held on Monday 29 April at Sherwood Lodge, Nottinghamshire Police’s Headquarters.

It was chaired by a legally qualified independent chair. It was open to both the public and the media to attend.

PC Beresford resigned from the force on Friday 26 April before the hearing took place.

PC Beresford, who started at the force’s training school in September 2022 and was still undergoing tutorship.

In a statement, he wanted to “genuinely and unreservedly” apologise to the member of bar staff for “upsetting her” and said “he had let a lot of people down” and this was “a mistake that he will have to live with the rest of his life.”

He was found to have breached the following standards of professional behaviour - authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct.

The legally-qualified independent chair found him guilty of misconduct.

Commenting after the hearing, Deputy Chief Constable Steve Cooper said:

“The actions of PC Beresford on that night were completely unacceptable.

“His conduct damages the reputation of Nottinghamshire Police and public confidence in policing as a whole.

“The public deserve the highest possible standards from our officers whether they are on or off duty and this officer has let himself and his colleagues down. I would like to personally thank both off-duty officers for apologising for his actions on the night and also advising the member of bar staff to report this matter to us.

“More than ever it is vitally important that the public have complete trust and confidence in policing and therefore anyone who fails to meet the extremely  high standards expected of them will be dealt with robustly.”