Police trainees’ earrings ‘removed with bolt cutters’

A POLICE instructor made three female trainees place their heads on a table and allegedly used bolt cutters to remove their earrings, a disciplinary hearing heard.

Pc Martin Briggs’s “astonishing” treatment of the women before a fitness test left one bleeding from her ears.

The officer was overseeing a “bleep test”, a drill that involves running back and forth against the clock, when he insisted all jewellery be removed by the 63 recruits.

Three officers – Pc Georgia Hedditch, Pc Elizabeth Christie, and Pc Holly Law – told him they were physically unable to remove their stud earrings.

When Pc Hedditch jokingly suggested to him that “you’ll have to cut them out”, Pc Briggs left the sports hall at Dorset Police HQ and returned with a pair of bolt croppers.

He then had them file one by one into an office next to the hall and told them to put their heads down on a jacket on a desk, it was heard. Pc Briggs then lent over them and “forcibly cut” their earrings out. After finishing with one officer he held up the bolt croppers, opened and closed them and asked “who’s next?”, it was heard.

The women were left “distressed and embarrassed” after their ordeal on April 17 last year, it is alleged. The junior officers said they complied as they thought if they did not do the test they would fail the course and damage their career prospects.

Pc Briggs faces a police disciplinary hearing amid claims his actions breached police standards of behaviour that amounted to gross misconduct.

He admits to a “highly regrettable error of judgment” but denies behaving “discreditably”, stating he removed the jewellery with the students’ consent.

Mark Ley-morgan, a barrister representing Dorset Police, said Pc Briggs’ behaviour was described by witnesses as “angry, abrupt, rude and impatient. He was swearing a lot.”

The hearing was told the officer was “incredibly aggressive” to the students who he accused of “f-----g with my OCD” by incorrectly filling in a form before the test.

Mr Ley-morgan said: “Three very junior officers came into an office, putting their head on a table, having their earrings forcibly cut out. Surely steps should have been taken to rearrange their fitness tests to the next morning. ”

Representing Pc Briggs, barrister Genevieve Woods said Pc Hedditch gave him permission to remove the earring. She said Pc Christie was aware police had a two earrings policy.

The hearing continues.