A SACKED Somerset officer has been barred from ever working for the police after it emerged he acted "inappropriately" with at least four female colleagues.

The officer, named only as PC H, was dismissed without notice following a misconduct hearing on Monday (July 25).

The hearing at Avon and Somerset Police headquarters heard how PC H breached the standards of professional behaviour through his behaviour towards the women officers.

The hearing was told PC H:

  • did not treating his colleagues with respect and courtesy by acting inappropriately towards them;
  • in relation to one colleague (Officer A), this included pretending to cut her hair, touching her face mask repeatedly, hugging her despite her not consenting, holding her hand, putting his hand on her shoulder and telling her he loved her;
  • in relation to another colleague (Officer B), this included making comments about her personal appearance, sending her text messages to say he loved her, following her around the police station and telling her he had a “really nice dream” about her;
  • in relation to a third colleague (Officer C) this included coming up behind her and giving her a cuddle, commenting on her appearance and making her feel uncomfortable;
  • in relation to a fourth colleague (Officer D), this included touching (for no good reason) the torch on her body armour which was positioned at chest height;
  • in relation to a number of female colleagues, this included touching their hair as they sat in the police station.

Det Ch Insp Ayesha Giles, of the force's professional standards, said: “The behaviour carried out by this officer towards his colleagues was inappropriate, unprofessional and unacceptable.

"It made his fellow officers feel deeply uncomfortable and they showed dignity and courage in speaking out about how his actions had affected them.

“Behaviour like this has no place in policing because everyone who works for Avon and Somerset Police deserves to be treated with respect by their colleagues.

“We hope the outcome of this hearing demonstrates our ongoing commitment to rooting out misogynistic behaviour like this.

“It’s important for all police officers and staff to know that reports of inappropriate behaviour are taken extremely seriously, and full and thorough investigations will result when complaints are made.”

PC H will now be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list to prevent him working in policing or other law enforcement agencies in the future.