A FORMER Warwickshire police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct.
The officer breached professional standards while dealing with a victim of domestic abuse.
At a gross misconduct hearing they were found to have persistently messaged the victim asking to meet despite her indicating they did not wish to do so, discussed details of the investigation in the company of the officer’s partner, formed an inappropriate and unprofessional emotional attachment to the victim, sent an inappropriate text message to the victim, pressured the victim to send an email of support to the officer’s line manager praising his performance and handling of the case, the contents of which was pre-drafted by the officer, and contacted the victim twice despite the officer’s awareness of being under investigation.
The hearing’s chair found that the officer fell short of the following standards of professional behaviour – integrity, authority, respect, and courtesy, confidentiality, and conduct.
The chair found that, had he been a serving officer, he would have been dismissed without notice. The officer has been placed on the barred list held by the College of Policing.
Det Supt.Thompson of Professional Standards said: “The former officer fell a long way short of the standards we expect in our organisation.
“We treat any and all cases of professional misconduct seriously, particularly as the people who come into contact with us are often vulnerable members of the community in need of support and do not deserve to be let down and abused by their police force.”