A former Avon and Somerset Police officer was told he would have been dismissed without notice had he not already resigned following his conduct in a pub garden, during which he bragged about his sexual conquests and harassed colleagues.
During a hearing held at Police HQ and led by an independent Legally Qualified Chair the former officer, known as PS X, was found to have committed gross misconduct. He used sexual and inappropriate language during an off-duty event he attended with colleagues in a pub garden in Weston-super-Mare in July 2020.
During the event, at which he was the most senior officer present, he became intoxicated, touched another officer's hair without permission, took a photo of an officer without their consent and spoke about taking drugs in his youth.
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He will now be placed on the National College of Policing's Barred List, preventing him from working within policing, as well as other law enforcement bodies. The misconduct hearing in Portishead heard how the sergeant bragged about taking cocaine and having sex with 1,000 women, and sexually harassed colleagues during the drunken night out, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.
The officer - whose name was not disclosed to protect the health of him and his children - quit Avon and Somerset Police two days before a misconduct panel heard he had a reputation for being “tactile” and making “creepy” comments dating back to at least 2015, when he received a verbal warning.
He “behaved himself” for five years but in July 2020 organised a night out at the pub close to the North Somerset Police Centre in Weston, where he announced he planned to “get smashed” and apologised in advance for anything inappropriate he might say.
Colleague 'sickened' by comments
The intoxicated officer - who had 15 years’ experience and became a sergeant in 2019 but did not attend the hearing - talked openly in derogatory terms about a young female colleague he was attracted to, saying he would “destroy” her and “trade” his partner for her. The woman said the comments made her “feel physically sick”.
He spoke increasingly loudly and in graphic detail about his sexual preferences, claiming he had slept with “approaching 1,000 women”, performed oral sex on a male officer, and lost his virginity in Grove Park “while on acid”.
He also admitted using cannabis and cocaine in his youth and told colleagues: “Surely you’ve tried cocaine, everyone must have.”
Without consent, the former officer went on to touch a female co-worker’s hair and photograph a male subordinate before sending the picture to women at a swingers' party. Sgt X invited him to the party, telling him he was “guaranteed to have sexual encounters” and that he would “protect” him at work the next day if he stayed out drinking, the hearing was told.
The young officer later told interviewers he felt the former sergeant was trying to “pimp me out to his friends”, and a pair felt so uncomfortable they jumped over the fence of the pub’s beer garden and ran off, the panel heard. When a colleague’s mother gave Sgt X and several others a lift to another venue he told her they were going to a sex party and kept asking her out, despite her saying she was happily married.
The former officer admitted all the allegations against him but denied they amounted to gross misconduct. Representing the force, Mark Ley-Morgan said Sgt X had received a final verbal warning in 2015 after making “constant” graphic sexual comments to colleagues when they worked at the Glastonbury Festival and gaining a reputation for inappropriate behaviour.
He said the former officer’s conduct towards numerous junior colleagues when they thought they were going for a few quiet drinks amounted to sexual harassment. “Any right-thinking member of the public would be appalled by this behaviour,” he said.
Misconduct panel chair Peter Cadman found that Sgt X’s actions amounted to gross misconduct. He said: “This was truly appalling behaviour by a former police sergeant. He deliberately went out to get drunk. He had been warned in 2015 and was aware of the risk.
“Officers were offended by his talk. One officer felt physically sick. Officers left the event earlier, there’s evidence of two jumping over fences.
“If the former officer was still a serving officer he would have been dismissed. We also ask that his name should be placed on the barred list.”
'Wholly unacceptable'
Supt Jane Wigmore, head of Professional Standards, said after the hearing: "This officer’s conduct was wholly unacceptable and his words and behaviour made others feel extremely uncomfortable.
“Some of those present reported their concerns to line managers, who in turn made a referral to Professional Standards. It’s important to recognise the role they played in calling out this behaviour, which resulted in a full and thorough investigation being carried out.
“Even though he was off-duty at the time, we still expect all our officers and staff to uphold the highest of standards and it’s abundantly clear from the evidence heard at the hearing that PS X failed to do this.
“There’s no place in Avon and Somerset Police for this type of behaviour or language and we remain determined to root it out, so the public can have full confidence in the police service and those who are employed to serve and protect them.”
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