Former officer who made 'abhorrent' comments would have been sacked

A former police officer who made inappropriate comments to female members of staff would have lost his job if he hadn’t resigned before a gross misconduct hearing.

The independent panel, led by a legally qualified chair, accepted a recommendation made by the PC and his legal representative not to have his name made public.

He will therefore be known as Officer A.

A thorough investigation was carried out by Nottinghamshire Police’s Professional Standard’s Directorate after the allegations came to light.

They were made by a number of female officers who worked at the same station as Officer A.

A gross misconduct hearing was held at Force HQ (Sherwood Lodge) on Wednesday 25 September. It was open to the public and the press.

The hearing heard that in August 2022, Officer A made an inappropriate comment relating to a female colleague’s appearance.

Officer A then bombarded this colleague with messages on social media. None of them were of a sexual nature.

However, they made her feel uncomfortable so she removed him from her social media channels.

He then consistently challenged while they were no longer friends on social media and berated her in front of other members of staff.

In October 2022, Officer A then showed a new member of staff a picture of a woman in a bubble bath on his phone, which she found strange. He then told her he liked the smell of her hair on two occasions, which made her feel uncomfortable.

He was challenged by other officers about his behaviour.

In December 2022, the officer then made remarks to two female colleagues about a vehicle he owned describing it as a “rape van”.

Officer A resigned in July 2023 before his misconduct hearing was held.

The hearing found that he breached the following Standards of Behaviour - authority, respect and courtesy, discreditable conduct, equality and diversity.

If he was still serving, he would have been immediately dismissed. He has also been placed on the barred list, which means he can no longer serve in any police force.

Chief Constable Kate Meynell said:

“The language this officer used is completely abhorrent and has no place whatsoever in Nottinghamshire Police.

“As soon as this behaviour was reported, a thorough investigation was carried out by our Professional Standards Directorate, and I am pleased he no longer works in our organisation.

“I would also like to thank the officers who came forward and called out this officer’s appalling behaviour.

“As an organisation, we have invested in a number of programmes to ensure that our staff feel encouraged to come forward and report this behaviour but to also challenge it.

“The actions of this one officer has the potential to dent public trust and confidence at a time when police forces are under immense scrutiny.

“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.

“I can assure you as Chief Constable, anyone who thinks they can use this type of language and serve as a police officer will be dealt with robustly as today’s result shows.

“It has absolutely no place in policing.”