Charing Cross investigation update – gross misconduct findings for nine officers, further investigations into officers' behaviour under way
A total of nine current or former police officers who featured in the BBC Panorama documentary on Charing Cross police station have been found to have committed gross misconduct, following the latest accelerated misconduct hearing held by the Met yesterday. As the result of the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s investigation we decided in October that 10 officers should face fast-tracked disciplinary proceedings. At a hearing which concluded late yesterday (13 Feb), a disciplinary panel found former PC Brian Sharkey's behaviour amounted to gross misconduct for making inappropriate and unprofessional comments about victims of sexual assault and rape while off duty, and for making discriminatory comments about members of the public. The panel found that he breached the police standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy; equality and diversity, and discreditable conduct, however they decided the former officer would not be placed on police's barred list. Between October and November seven Met officers were dismissed and placed on police's barred list and in January a former Gloucestershire officer, who had transferred from the Met but recently resigned, was also dismissed and placed on the barred list.* The Met withdrew proceedings for a tenth officer – a sergeant – who remains under gross misconduct investigation regarding their use of force. IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said: “We were all shocked and appalled by some of the conduct we saw from officers in the documentary, and our team of investigators has worked at pace to investigate their actions. “This enabled the force to dismiss the officers at the earliest opportunity and shows how seriously we, along with the force, have treated this matter.” Our criminal investigations into two Met officers remain ongoing for:
In recent months our investigation has widened after we received additional footage from the BBC, which was not broadcast. In January, we decided that another Met PC, based at Charing Cross, should face an accelerated gross misconduct hearing for inappropriate comments they allegedly made relating to using force on a member of the public. A hearing has been scheduled by the Met for 1 April. A further two Met officers are being investigated for potential gross misconduct:
Following a witness appeal, we carried out several interviews with individuals who came forward with concerns. As a result, we are investigating a sergeant based at the station for potential gross misconduct for alleged inappropriate and sexualised comments made about women and failing to challenge similar behaviour by junior officers. Ms Rowe added: “We know there were concerns about the behaviour of officers at Charing Cross following the documentary, particularly in light of the issues we found during our previous investigation involving officers at that station. “It’s vital for public confidence that officers whose behaviour falls far below what the public deserve and expect are held to account and swift action is taken, to ensure they are removed from policing. “Our dedicated team of investigators are continuing to work through a substantial amount of footage. Where we identify further concerns about officers’ conduct, we will not hesitate to ensure that appropriate action is taken at the earliest opportunity. “Our role is to investigate individual conduct matters and complaints, but we have also been discussing wider matters, including culture and leadership, with MOPAC, as the body which oversees the Met Police.” |
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