‘Kiss’ Pc guilty of gross misconduct
APOLICE officer has kept his job with a final written warning despite being found guilty of gross misconduct for trying to kiss a lone woman while on duty.
Pc Gareth Roscoe, who works for the Rochdale division and patrols Heywood and Middleton, ‘abused his position’ while in the woman’s home.
A case of gross misconduct was found proven at a GMP disciplinary hearing following an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
The woman, from Heywood, told the investigation that Pc Roscoe had been parked in a police vehicle near her home. She said he beckoned her over and asked if she would make him a brew before following her inside – with her consent – and asking if she was alone.
The woman went on to say Pc Roscoe advised her to close the blinds and told her she was ‘absolutely gorgeous’ as well as asking if he could try to pick her up because of her petite frame. She said when she agreed he placed her on the kitchen worktop.
The woman said: “The officer moved his face towards mine as if to kiss me on the lips, but I knew exactly what he was doing so I said no, no, no, no loudly and wagged my forefinger at him.
“At this point I was thinking ‘how do I get this man out of my house?’ as I was shocked by his behaviour as he had definitely crossed the line.”
Pc Roscoe then left but asked if he could come back, the woman said.
She reported the incident to police an hourand-a-half later in the early hours of October 15 last year.
Pc Roscoe, who had responded to reports of a domestic disturbance in the area, was interviewed under caution by the IPCC, but he declined to answer any questions until presented with a copy of the woman’s statement.
He then denied the incident happened and said that the woman had been the one to initially approach him and invite him inside – and that he quickly left to attend an incident at a service station.
Pc Roscoe gave a statement saying: “I was only inside the address of the female for a brief period of time. There was nothing in my actions whilst outside or inside with the female that could have been misconstrued.
“I did not ask the female if I could pick her up whilst at her address. I did not pick her up. I did not comment on the female’s size whilst at the address. I did not ask the female if I could return to the address.”
He also disputed claims he was inside the house for four minutes, saying it may have seemed longer than it was because he paused outside to put the service station address into his sat-nav device.
Another unnamed police officer, who attended the same incidents that night but in a different vehicle, supported Pc Roscoe’s version of how long he was in the woman’s house. But the IPCC investigation described the woman as remaining consistent with her account.
In March this year the investigator concluded that there was evidence of a case to answer for Pc Roscoe for gross misconduct.
Speaking after this month’s hearing Andy Riley, from the IPCC, said: “Police officers must not abuse their position to make unwarranted approaches to people for their personal gain. The IPCC takes such allegations extremely seriously. The case for gross misconduct was proven and Pc Roscoe disciplined. Pc Roscoe may be in a minority of officers who choose to abuse their position in this way, but his actions will no doubt have an impact on public confidence in the police service.”
A GMP spokesman said: “Following an IPCC investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour by a police officer whilst on duty, GMP held a public misconduct hearing over two days.
“At the conclusion of the hearing, an independent panel found the officer’s actions had amounted to gross misconduct.
“The public rightly expects the conduct of police officers to be of the highest standard and we take these expectations very seriously as we strive to provide the best possible service that we can. Any behaviour that breaches this standard of professional conduct will not be tolerated. As a result of the panel’s findings, the officer was given a final written warning.”