PC Hadi Yousef: Reading police officer spared sack after lies exposed

This came after PC Hadi Yousef tried to cover up the fabrication of a signature on a witness statement in December 2021.

Last week, the officer appeared before a Thames Valley Police misconduct panel charged with breaching the force’s behaviour standards.

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At the hearing, it was explained that PC Yousef copied and pasted a witness signature onto a witness statement on December 3, 2021.

He told two senior police officers that he had done this as he had consent from the witness.

However, he only obtained said consent on December 6, 2021 -- three days after the copy and pasting of the signature.

Despite this, PC Yousef kept up the lie and again told his senior officers that he had spoken to the witness about consent prior to December 6.

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But the officer’s phone was checked and it could be seen that no calls were made to the witness, exposing the lie.

A TVP panel found this behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

The panel said: “Lying twice to supervising officers shows a fundamental lack of integrity and a breach of what it means to be a police officer.

“It was disrespectful to his superiors and a clear breach of instructions.”

The panel opted not to dismiss PC Yousef as the incident amounted to a ‘single episode’ and he initially acted in ‘good faith’ to progress a police investigation.

He was ‘driven by a degree of panic’ and he showed ‘genuine remorse’ for his conduct.

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As well as this, the panel noted that PC Yousef, who can speak multiple languages, has ‘exceptional potential’ for outreach work within ethnic and minority communities.

“Such qualities and skills are not a single justification for allowing him to keep his job”, a report outlined, and the panel said “we accept that this episode was out of character for him. He has been described by many as truthful, honest and with high moral standards.”

PC Yousef was served with a final written warning that lasts a period of three years.

The hearing took place on Thursday, May 12.