Police officer sacked over misconduct allegations
PC DISMISSED FROM FORCE WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT
A HUMBERSIDE Police officer has been sacked with immediate effect following a string of misconduct allegations, including eating pizza instead of responding to a call-out and taking unauthorised days off.
Yesterday, Police Constable 0709 Daniel Ward was dismissed from the force following a hearing at the Old Magistrates’ Court in Goole.
The misconduct hearing was announced on the force’s website and included allegations that PC Ward had lied about his whereabouts on multiple occasions to avoid answering call-out requests.
On one such occasion, it was alleged he had been eating pizza in the parade room at Clough Road Police Station, despite telling the control room he was dealing with prisoners and so could not answer a request to take over a bed watch at Hull Royal Infirmary.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Following a misconduct hearing at the Old Magistrates’ Court building in Goole, PC Daniel Ward has today been dismissed from the force.
“Mr Ward’s conduct is ruled to have breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of honesty and integrity, as well as duties and responsibilities, contrary to the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012.
“An independent panel, led by a legally qualified chair, heard Mr Ward had been dishonest about his whereabouts and availability on a number of occasions.
“Following the two-day hearing, the panel found that Mr Ward’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and he was dismissed with immediate effect.”
Detective Superintendent Matthew Baldwin, from the Professional Standards Department, said: “We expect our officers to act with honesty and integrity at all times and Mr Ward’s conduct was dishonest, falling well short of the standards we expect.
“The first priority for the overwhelming majority of our officers and staff is to serve our communities to the very best of their ability and we will not accept any officer or member of staff behaving in a way which fails to uphold their role and duties.
“It’s vital we maintain the public’s trust and confidence by removing anyone from the force whose behaviour undermines this.”