A Northumbria police officer has been dismissed without notice after "motorboating" a woman while dancing at a nightclub.
PC James Pentland was accused by a woman, known as Ms A, of touching the breasts / breast area and rubbing his face into her breast area. He denied the accusation, claiming he had held up his hands in front of her and moved them in a "jazzing type manner".
Following a misconduct hearing, a panel found that the officer did carry out the act, which is commonly known as "motorboating". They also found he had inappropriately placed the woman's arm up her back, after she slapped him around the face.
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A report released, following the disciplinary hearing, reveals how the incidents took place at a nightclub in Newcastle on September 15, 2021.
The officer and Ms A had both gone for an evening out with friends. They had met in a bar earlier in the evening and, after drinking at various venues, the two groups met up again in the nightclub.
The hearing heard how PC Pentland had been dancing close to Ms A on the packed dancefloor in the club, which was very busy. However there was a "stark disagreement" between them as to what happened on the dancefloor.
The officer claimed that Ms A had been dancing very close to him and others and was flirting with him and others. He claimed that she had whispered in his ear that she wanted to "f*** him".
However Ms A said she was dancing with various people including the officer, was not flirting and did not say anything of that nature to him.
The misconduct hearing heard how Ms A took her shirt off and waved it above her head when the song 'Countryroad' was played. She was wearing a black Calvin Klein sports bra.
The officer claimed that someone to his left made a comment about Ms A’s breasts. He said, after the comment was made, he stepped towards Ms A and held up his hands in front of her.
He said he moved them in a jazzing type manner and mimicked touching her breasts. In interview, he said he was trying to be funny in front of the group.
PC Pentland said Ms A then slapped him hard and he took hold of her wrist and placed her arm up her back to stop her slapping him again. He claims she said to him "You need to be careful I like it rough". He said he also had his other arm across her shoulder and nothing else was said between them.
The officer said this was a continuation of her flirtatious behaviour and they continued to dance together. He did not mention anything about the event to anyone else or have any other conversation about it.
Ms A made a number of allegations of unwanted and inappropriate behaviour by the officer during their time on the dancefloor. She claimed he did not cease his behaviour, even when she slapped him around the face.
She claimed the officer did approach her but he grabbed hold of her breasts and put his face between them, an action referred to as 'motorboating'. She said she immediately slapped him hard and did not say anything to him. She claimed he then took hold of her arm behind his back and took hold of her throat.
Ms A said she did not mention the event to anyone at the time. She said she later told her boyfriend about the motorboating incident and talked to her parents about it. This led to her boyfriend sending texts about it and eventually to the involvement of the police.
The hearing heard how the officer was contacted by text by his friend who asked him "Did you motorboat my mate's lass last night?". He replied "Excuse me hahaha". He then sent a text saying "My mate's been texting me going mental about you motorboating his lass I am assuming she’s told him that you have". He replied "Ahaha I don’t recall motorboating anyone".
Ms A also complained that the officer touched her bottom, however she was unsure about the exact sequence of events. The report said: "She accepts that she is unsure of the order of events but is adamant that they occurred particularly the allegation of motorboating."
The main evidence came from Ms A as there were no other witnesses and CCTV did not clearly capture the events.
Following the misconduct hearing, which took place between November 29 and December 1 last year, the panel found that the allegations that the officer had touched Ms A's bottom and her throat were unproven.
They said they had considered all the factors and accepted Ms A's evidence that motorboating occurred.
The report said: "Ms A was generally a credible witness. Motorboating is a very specific act. Ms A has no reason to lie about this specific act occurring. It is unlikely to be something which someone would raise if it had not occurred.
"She mentioned motorboating at an early stage to her ex-boyfriend. She has been consistent about it. She slapped the officer hard. The panel does not accept the officer's account that Ms A made comments to him about wanting to sleep with him or liked it to be rough."
The panel said the officer's action of placing of Ms A's arm up her back was "inappropriate" and he should have taken alternative action rather than physically taking hold of her e.g. stepping away.
They said: "This conduct is clearly a breach of the standards of professional behaviour of Discreditable conduct."
The panel took into account both sides when considering whether the actions carried out by PC Pentland were misconduct or gross misconduct.
They said: "Ms A described the officer’s actions as unwarranted, unprofessional, inappropriate and very disrespectful. She felt violated. The officer did not intend to cause her any harm but he could reasonably have foreseen the harm caused to Ms A.
"The officer’s conduct was not malicious and was not sexually motivated. He intended it as a joke. It was not a planned action but was a spontaneous one. He carried out an act for his amusement and that of others at the expense of Ms A."
They said the officer’s conduct will have undermined public confidence in policing. A police officer acting in this manner will have damaged the public's general view of the force.
The report said: "There is currently significant national and local public concern about the attitude of police officers to women. There have been many reported cases about officers' abuse of women. This particular case is different in nature to some of the most high profile cases but it only serves to perpetuate the general public perception about the inappropriate views and actions of police officers."
The panel said the officer had shown a lack of understand about the appropriateness of his actions. They said: "His conduct was unacceptable on the basis of his own admissions but he did not personally consider that it was inappropriate."
The panel recognised that the incident was only for a short period of time and was a "spontaneous" and a "one-off" action. They noted that the officer was unlikely to act in a similar manner again. They said that although he now shows some regret for his actions, he did not make any admissions as to the motorboating incident and was not entitled to any credit.
The hearing heard that PC Pentland showed potential to be a good police officer, is extremely well thought of by colleagues and friends and family and his conduct was "out of character." However the panel ruled that the officer's conduct will have "seriously undermined" public confidence in the force.
The report said: "Officers should protect women not subject them to any form of abuse. All officers must recognise that they have to maintain the highest standard of behaviour whether on or of duty and in whatever environment they are in. The officer’s conduct was contrary to the training and expectations of Northumbria Police."
The panel said the public would rightly be concerned if an officer acting in this way was allowed to continue working as a police officer. They added: "This kind of conduct is unacceptable behaviour for any serving police officer and is inconsistent with their continuation in service."
The panel decided that the officer's conduct was gross misconduct and the only appropriate outcome was dismissal without notice. The officer’s name will be sent to the College of Policing for inclusion on the police barred list.
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