A Met Police officer who was caught on camera masturbating while at work has been fired.
The officer - who was granted anonymity by a misconduct panel - filmed himself performing the sex act in the toilets and locker room of Peckham Police Station.
The videos came to light after he was arrested by Surrey Police “for an unrelated matter” on January 27 last year and his phone was searched.
The panel heard how the officer, known only as ‘Officer A’, sent a 33-second clip showing him pleasuring himself in the toilets to a member of the public just before midnight on January 2.
The footage clearly identified him as a police officer, with his Met uniform visible, it heard.
Then eight minutes later, he filmed another 35-second clip inside the station’s locker room, with his face visible.
In mitigation, the officer admitted performing the sex acts on camera, but denied committing gross misconduct.
The hearing, held on May 10, was told that the officer, who had a role in tutoring trainee constables, was already under a final warning for “unrelated” misconduct in 2021.
Ruling to dismiss the officer, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said only a sacking could be justified.
“Officer A’s conduct was intentional and deliberate,” he said.
“Being consciously in identifiable police uniform, ‘Officer A’ - in sharing the video with a recipient - lost control of where and by whom those videos would be seen, a factor which had the potential to seriously undermine the reputation of the police service.”
He added: “At the time of ‘Officer A’s’ conduct in January 2023, the Metropolitan Police Service was facing, and continues to face, a high degree of public scrutiny for sexual misconduct by former serving Metropolitan Police Officers.”
The misconduct meeting was held behind closed doors after submissions from the officer’s Police Federation representative.
