Ex-police officer guilty of misconduct

A FORMER police officer who ‘pepper sprayed’ a man in Yorkshire at close range without justification has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

James Burke was found to have used unnecessary force when he was serving as a British Transport Police officer last year, at a misconduct hearing in York on Monday.

The police constable discharged incapacitant spray into the face of a man at Leeds Station

in March 2021. The force said he used the spray “at close range when this was neither necessary, proportionate, or reasonable” and he “failed to provide the necessary aftercare”.

He was accused of using the spray on a vulnerable woman without justification, at the same station in February last year, and the allegation was not proven but the force said “the fact the officer did not provide sufficient aftercare would have been misconduct if dealt with in isolation”.

The misconduct panel found that Mr Burke failed to treat a vulnerable man with respect and courtesy, while he was experiencing a mental health crisis in April 2021, and he “engaged in unwanted conduct towards” the man.

He also made a false statement about the driving training he had received, upon joining the force in April 2020, and he lied during a reflective practice meeting later that year.

Mr Burke resigned from the police force before the misconduct hearing was held and he did not attend.

In a statement, British Transport Police said Mr Burke’s actions “cumulatively amounted to gross misconduct” and if he was still a serving police officer he would “have been dismissed without notice”.

He has the right to appeal.