A GWENT Police inspector has been sacked following a gross misconduct hearing.
The man - referred to as 'Officer A' after the hearing panel chaired by Emma Boothroyd refused to name him - faced a number of allegations relating to his professional behaviour at the hearing at Gwent Police headquarters in Cwmbran.
The panel decided to dismiss Officer A without notice, after concluding the allegations amounted to gross misconduct.
READ MORE:
- Three police cars attacked with rocks outside Bettws police station.
- Dealer admits drug trafficking offences after undercover police operation.
- Why police want to identify and find this man.
“The dishonesty was sustained over a number of days and involved a number of different individuals,” concluded the panel. “The untruths were numerous and involved seeking to blame others who Officer A was aware were acting correctly and doing their job.
“Officer A had several opportunities to explain the true position but chose to maintain the lies he had already told and add further untruths.
“The panel decided the only option was dismissal without notice.”
During the hearing, Officer A admitted to driving without insurance, MOT certificate and a vehicle excise licence, but argued this did not amount to acting “dishonestly and without integrity.”
“I’m horrified I didn’t have car insurance but I genuinely believed I did,” they said.
The panel decided that, as Officer A’s previous insurance had automatically renewed, he did not knowingly drive without insurance.
However, they noted driving without insurance, MOT or tax on the vehicle was a breach in standards.
The panel decided the allegation of producing his warrant card to the uniformed officer when he was stopped in order to influence his actions was not proved.
Officer A said he had produced their warrant card to identify himself as a police officer, meaning he would not be driving an uninsured car, and would not be any trouble for the uniformed officer.
He accepted it was a “clumsy way” to identify himself, but maintained he did not mean to try to influence the uniformed officer.
The panel noted there was nothing to show in the uniformed officer’s body camera footage that Officer A was attempting to influence him.
The allegation of abandoning a vehicle in a church car park for around weeks without consent, and without leaving contact details, causing an obstruction and inconvenience to legitimate users of the car park was accepted.
The panel found the allegations amounted to gross misconduct.
During the four-day hearing, Ms Boothroyd placed an anonymity order on Officer A, adding that she "was under no obligation to say why."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article