Investigation into sergeant’s interactions and relationship with a female member of the public and an ex-partner – Metropolitan Police Service, December 2021

In December and January 2021, we received two conduct referrals from the Metropolitan Police Service about one of its officers.

The first referral was regarding a report of a domestic disturbance at a house in December 2021. A woman reported that her partner had assaulted her. She reported a number of allegations, including that her relationship with her partner had started when they met while he was on duty as a police officer. The officer, who was a sergeant, was arrested.

The second referral was regarding a police officer who reported concerns about her former partner following the breakdown of their relationship in May 2021. The officer reported that her former partner, the police sergeant, was following her, driving past her home and waiting outside her property.

There was no connection between the women, and they did not know one another.

We decided to independently investigate the nature and extent of the sergeant’s relationship with the woman who reported the assault, and the report that the sergeant behaved inappropriately towards his former partner.

We examined the circumstances in which the sergeant met the woman he reportedly assaulted, if he used his position to pursue an inappropriate relationship, whether she accompanied him in police vehicles while he was on duty and with no policing purpose, and whether he followed any relevant legislation, policy and guidance in relation to his relationship.

We investigated the allegations made by the woman about his behaviour, including that he assaulted her, swerved his vehicle across a road and refused to continue driving, caused damage to her flat, prevented her from leaving the property, and stopped her from using her mobile phone.

We also investigated whether the sergeant behaved inappropriately towards his ex-partner by engaging in unwanted behaviour which made her feel uncomfortable.

Our investigators interviewed the police sergeant, examined his mobile phone and obtained statements from several witnesses, including some of the officers who worked under the police sergeant.

We found that the officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct in both cases. We shared our report with the force, who agreed. We decided that disciplinary proceedings should be brought against the police sergeant and that they should take the form of a gross misconduct hearing.

The sergeant’s former partner did not support the investigation, and that part of the investigation was discontinued.

We referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who decided to pursue criminal proceedings. The CPS authorised charges against the officer for misconduct in public office. The sergeant pleaded guilty before the trial and was given an eight-month prison sentence in June 2025.

The sergeant faced an accelerated misconduct hearing following his guilty plea. He was dismissed without notice. The officer was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for conduct. 

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

We did not identify any organisational learning in this case.