A misconduct hearing, led by an Independent Legally Qualified Chair, concluded on Sunday, 16 January, with all findings and sanctions being read into public record.
Chief Superintendent Paul Martin was found to have breached Standards of Professional Behaviour, amounting to gross misconduct, in relation to honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities, authority, respect and courtesy, and equality and diversity.
The breaches related to, misusing a corporate credit card, conduct towards more junior members of staff including a pregnant colleague and failing to declare a conflict of interest while assisting in a promotion process for Chief Inspector Davinder Kandohla.
He was dismissed without notice.
Chief Inspector Kandohla was also found to have breached Standards of Professional Behaviour, amounting to gross misconduct, in relation to honesty and integrity, authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.
The breaches related to failing to declare a conflict of interest while taking part in his own promotion process, providing a misleading account to professional standards officers during an investigation into expenses he had claimed and conduct towards junior members of staff.
He was dismissed without notice.
The hearing also considered allegations against two other officers.
Sergeant James Di-Luzio was found to have breached Standards of Professional Behaviour, amounting to misconduct, in relation to, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities, and authority, respect and courtesy.
The breaches related to the misuse of a corporate credit card and conduct towards more junior members of staff.
He was issued with management advice.
All allegations against PC Karina Kandohla were not proven.
At the time of the allegations, PC Kandohla was attached to Met Operations. The three other officers were attached to Frontline Policing.
The DPS investigation began in July 2018 following allegations that Chief Supt Martin and Chief Inspector Kandohla had breached Standards of Professional Behaviour as part of Chief Inspector Kandohla’s promotion process.
A further investigation was launched in September 2019 after concerns were raised about other breaches of professional standards, including inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and improper financial expenditure.
The breaches all occurred between 2017 and 2019.
Commander Catherine Roper said: “The behaviour demonstrated by these officers has no place in the Met. It is right they have been subject to a detailed and thorough investigation by the DPS, resulting in a misconduct hearing and the subsequent sanctions.
“Three of the officers were of a leadership rank and should have been setting a strong example for the standards we hold in the Met. Instead they abused their trusted positions; in particular in the way they spoke to and treated more junior members of staff was appalling. This behaviour will not be tolerated by anyone in the Met and we will continue to investigate and hold to account those who act in this manner.”
The DPS investigation also considered the actions of a Chief Inspector, who was an Inspector at the time. That officer received management action for breaching standards of professional behaviour in relation to duties and responsibilities. This means the officer will have been subject to a performance discussion with their line manager focussing on their learning from their previous actions and how they will commit to improve to ensure the behaviour is not repeated.
The trust of the public is fundamental to our core purpose of keeping London safe. It is critical and right that all Londoners can trust our officers, staff and volunteers whenever they encounter them. It is also essential that people who work for the Met do so in a positive, inclusive and supportive environment.
We cannot and are not waiting for the findings of ongoing inquiries to begin rebuilding the public’s trust and confidence that police officers will protect and respect them. We have already taken a number of significant steps to start real change across the organisation. These include the ongoing changes delivered through the Deputy Commissioner’s Delivery Group, including the Mayors Action Plan; the delivery of the STRIDE Action plan; The ‘Rebuilding Trust and Confidence’ commitments; in addition to two independent reviews, an examination of all current investigations of sexual and domestic abuse allegations against Met employees and an increase in the number of investigators in our Professional Standards Directorate.
The Met is driven by the values of professionalism, integrity, courage and compassion. We only want the best and will always act when our employees fall below the exemplary standards we and the public expect and deserve’.
