Following an investigation, gross misconduct allegations against a former police officer have been upheld at a disciplinary hearing. The hearing, which took place on 5 and 6 April at Sussex Police headquarters, was overseen by an Independent Legally Qualified Chair (LQC) who determined that the officer would remain anonymous.
LQCs are selected from a pool of independent, legally qualified individuals and are governed by Police Conduct Regulations. Their role is to ensure transparency and proportionality in misconduct hearings, and they work with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners to achieve this.
The former officer, referred to as Officer X, was granted anonymity by the LQC following legal representations made before the hearing. The LQC has the sole authority to determine whether a hearing is held in public or private and whether participants should be anonymized. Sussex Police must comply with the rulings made by the panel chair.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Officer X, who was based on the East Sussex division at the time, engaged in controlling and coercive behavior towards a colleague with whom they were in a relationship, both on and off duty. The officer was also found to have accessed policing records for non-policing purposes. Colleagues identified the officer’s controlling and coercive behavior, leading to a criminal investigation and the officer’s suspension from duty.
Although the criminal investigation did not result in a prosecution, the force’s Professional Standards Department carried out a misconduct investigation and referred the matter to a hearing. The investigation was in line with the force’s domestic abuse pledge, which stipulates that domestic abuse will not be tolerated, minimized or excused.
The former officer was found to have breached standards of professional behavior in respect of Integrity, Authority, Respect and Courtesy, Discreditable Conduct, and Confidentiality. These breaches were deemed to be gross misconduct, which would have resulted in the officer’s dismissal without notice had they not already resigned from the force. The ex-officer will now be added to the College of Policing Barred list, preventing a return to policing.
Superintendent Petra Lazar, deputy head of Professional Standards said in a statement: “We expect our officers to act with the utmost integrity, and in accordance with the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Behaviour, and we have invested in a comprehensive programme of cultural change towards challenging, reporting and tackling unethical or unprofessional behaviour. Criminal behaviour, misconduct, and misogyny have no place in Sussex Police.
“The actions of this officer in this case fell far short of the standards we expect, which is reflected in the findings by the panel.”
