A former Metropolitan Police riot instructor who drunkenly threw petrol bombs during a night of chaos at a police training centre would have been immediately sacked if he had not resigned, a misconduct panel has ruled.
James Duthoit, an ex-PC, was found guilty of gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing held in central London. The panel heard how the officer had been drinking with colleagues at the Met’s public order training centre in Gravesend, Kent, in 2022 before taking part in a reckless incident that caused £10,000 in fire damage.
Petrol Bomb Incident After Riot Course
The misconduct stemmed from an event following a five-week riot training course. After drinking in a medical hut, Duthoit and others reportedly hurled Molotov cocktails, setting off a fire at around 2am. While no injuries were reported, the incident triggered significant alarm and damage.
Duthoit, who had denied wrongdoing, told the hearing:
“I feel I am being made a scapegoat, when all I did was try to put the fire out.”
He admitted consuming alcohol and being “hugely tired” but claimed to have no memory of launching petrol bombs. In a previous statement, he added:
“If I thought the fire was out of control, I would have called the fire brigade. I had not anticipated such a consequence.”
Misconduct Panel Findings
The disciplinary panel, chaired by Commander Jason Prins, rejected Duthoit’s defence and found him culpable of gross misconduct. Commander Prins said:
“He tried to blame others for his wrongdoing. He was drunk, significant actual damage was caused, and he was training future public order instructors. His behaviour was akin to criminal damage.”
Duthoit has now been barred from rejoining police work, although he will still be entitled to receive his police pension.
Official Response and Consequences
The panel stressed that had Duthoit remained in the force, dismissal without notice would have been the only possible outcome.
His actions were described as “serious breaches of conduct” and a stark contrast to the high standards expected of those training others in public order and riot response tactics.
