Bride dumps love rat fireman over his romps with PC’s wife
The chairman of the panel, Tom Mitchell, said the officer’s conduct had fallen short of expected standards.
The hearing ended before evidence was heard about the officer allegedly unlawfully accessing Niche, the police recording system, 37 times.
The panel was also due to look at whether he had undeclared business interests.
Mr Mitchell said that having considered all three matters, Mr Parnell had committed gross misconduct which would lead to immediate dismissal.
But PC Parnell had already announced through his barrister Michael Rawlinson that he was going to resign. Mr Rawlinson said: “In order to preserve his own dignity and the dignity of his family and the office of constable he doesn’t wish to prolong these proceedings.”
The hearing, at the force’s headquarters in Northallerton, had earlier been told how oddjob man and retained firefighter Mr Billings, who then lived in Boroughbridge, had begun an affair with PC Parnell’s wife in July last year.
He had known her since he was 16 when his parents lived nearby. The Harrogate-based officer learnt about the affair from another woman in the town after his wife confided in a friend at the gym.
The furious firefighter then went to the Parnells’ home and began swearing at his lover in front of her daughter, saying public knowledge of their affair had ruined his life and he would have to confess to his fiancee.
The panel heard PC Parnell subsequently visited Mr Billings’ Robert Billings, 28, romped in car park home three days later. He denied threatening his rival, insisting he “wasn’t that kind of person”.
Mr Rawlinson said if the allegations were upheld “it would mean no serving police officer would ever be able to express his displeasure to somebody who had committed a great moral wrong against them”.
Mrs Parnell, who says she and her husband separated in 2016, did not attend the hearing.