A SERIES of misconduct hearings have been held in the past few weeks relating to Thames Valley Police officers.

Panels judged whether officers had been racist, sent inappropriate messages to a colleague and had wrongly used sick leave to do other work.

Here’s a roundup of the outcomes of those hearings and details on other misconduct hearings for TVP officers that have taken place in the past six months.

Christopher Howarth

A former officer who smoked cannabis while off-duty will never be allowed to work for the police again following a ‘serious breach of trust’.

Newbury-based officer PC Christopher Howarth, who quit Thames Valley Police earlier this year, will be named on the College of Policing’s barred list after admitting gross misconduct.

The officer tested positive for cannabis on July 21, 2021, and was deemed unfit to carry out his responsibilities.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

After resigning from the force, it was claimed PC Howarth had “brought discredit on the police service” and a misconduct hearing was scheduled for last week.

Here, it was proven that PC Howarth’s actions did amount to misconduct.

The hearing took place in Kidlington, Oxford on Friday, September 3.

Perry Greenhalf

A West Berkshire based police officer has been found guilty of misconduct after being caught making a string of racist and homophobic comments.

PC Perry Greenhalf, who resigned before a police misconduct hearing took place last month, would have been sacked had he still been employed by Thames Valley Police:

The misconduct found the Newbury-based officer said:

  • ‘Pakistan is a dirty, smelly country’
  • Another police officer was a ‘poof’ and was good at organising parties ‘because he was gay’
  • Said a child who had been sexually exploited ‘likes being bummed up the a***’
  • Made a further comment about the same child ‘liking it up the bum’

It was proven that the first comment was offensive and racist.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

The last three comments were proven to be offensive and homophobic.

PC Greenhalf had previously denied making the comments.

During the misconduct tribunal, which took place at TVP HQ in Kidlington at the end of November, the panel considered whether ‘a clique of colleagues of a less popular officer had got together to make up and/or exaggerate allegations’ about PC Greenhalf, as his legal representative contested.

But the panel found there was no evidence to support this claim.

The hearing took place in November.

Denim Wade

A Reading-based policeman has been sacked after being found guilty of misconduct and has been named on a list of disgraced former officers.

PC Denim Wade was accused of ‘failing to treat colleagues with respect and courtesy’ after failing to self-isolate when required to last year.

The officer came into close contact with a man arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in Reading.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

The arrested man subsequently tested positive for covid-19 -- which was less than 48 hours after the officer had come into close contact with him.

PC Wade, who is based at Reading Police Station, assisted in the suspect’s arrest and detention on November 25, 2020.

He was ‘in close contact’ with the suspect ‘for a ‘period of time’ having travelled with the suspect to custody in a car.

The suspect was held in custody and on November 27 they tested positive for coronavirus.

The force also claimed PC Wade ‘deliberately omitted information relating to social distancing and amended an email to his supervisor advising the time of the suspect’s test in order to avoid having to self-isolate.’

A Thames Valley Police report said: “By remaining in the workplace, the allegations are that PC Wade failed to treat colleagues with respect and courtesy.”

Following a Thames Valley Police misconduct hearing which ran from July 14 to July 16, bosses at the force decided to sack PC Wade.

A TVP spokesperson said: “I am able to confirm that the officer was dismissed from the force without notice and his name will be placed on the College of Policing barred list.”

A full report is set to be published outlining the reasons for PC Wade’s dismissal in the coming days.

The misconduct hearing took place in July.

PC Arun Kendall

A Bucks police officer would have been sacked after worked as a tree surgeon while he was signed off on sick leave.

Former PC Arun Kendall appeared before a public police misconduct hearing over allegations that he breached professional behaviour standards while he was a serving Thames Valley Police officer.

Here, it was proved that former PC Kendall, who was based in Milton Keynes, worked as a tree surgeon when he was signed off on long-term sick leave.

READ THE STORY HERE

The misconduct hearing took place at the Thames Valley Police headquarters in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, on November 22 and November 23.

The hearing judged whether former PC Kendall, who has already resigned from the force, engaged in outside business practices as an arborist.

Unnamed officer

A police officer who took advantage of a vulnerable female colleague would have been sacked after his behaviour constituted gross misconduct.

What was revealed was that "Officer A" asked the policewoman victim (Officer B) to download an encrypted app named "Signal" which he later used to send her sexual and flirty messages.

These included a photo of him in the bath, a picture of the Star Wars character Chewbacca wearing a bikini, with the message addressed to the policewoman asking "Are you hairy all over?" The senior officer also suggested she walk naked around her home and in front of mirrors so he could see nude photos of her.

Both officers were employed by Thames Valley Police, which covers Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire but the accused had quit the force after the allegations against him were investigated. His victim has also left the force.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

The hearing at police headquarters in Kidlington was told that the accused, described as Officer A to hide his identity, had been put in contact with the policewoman as part of his role as a Police Staff Association support official, following an incident on February 17 this year.

Officer A had set out to help the woman - described as "Officer B" to protect her identity - and provided help in dealing with her superior officers and managing her health issues.

However, investigators revealed that after the woman experienced a crisis on March 16, the support messages quickly changed in tone and became flirtatious and sexual.

Charles Apthorp, who gave details of the Thames Valley Police Professional Standards investigation into Officer A's conduct, told the hearing: "Officer A knew, or ought to have known that Officer B was vulnerable."

After a lengthy deliberation, a police misconduct panel ruled that Officer A's conduct had been gross misconduct and a breach of the police's standards of behaviour for their officers.

It was concluded that had Officer A still been a serving officer with Thames Valley Police he would have been dismissed.