West Mercia Police officer dismissed over bullying findings

A misconduct panel at West Mercia Police’s Hindlip headquarters has dismissed an officer without notice after finding he bullied a student officer under his supervision and fabricated a military service record, rulings that put the force’s oversight of informal authority back in the spotlight.

The four-day hearing in Worcestershire concluded that Officer A, referred to only by that designation, had committed gross misconduct. Most charges were proved. One allegation, that he called his colleague a sexist term, was not upheld.

The central finding concerned his behaviour towards a colleague he was tutoring, described by the panel as an “abusive, hostile, oppressive, derogatory, intimidating and/or bullying manner”. The conduct ran from March to April 2024. Tensions peaked on 25 April 2024, when Officer A challenged how the student had handled a domestic abuse call the previous day. The panel found he swore at the mature student during the altercation, and agreed that any dissatisfaction with the student’s handling should have been raised privately, not in public within earshot of other staff.

Adam Keenaghan, representing West Mercia Police, read a victim statement in which the student said the situation had a “traumatic impact” on their self-esteem. The student resigned in February 2025. Keenaghan told the hearing that Officer A’s behaviour, particularly on 25 April 2024, “was a deliberate attempt to effectively bully them out a job”.

Accountability questions extended to the officer’s conduct towards his own chain of command. The panel found he tried to influence an inspector who was considering moving him to another site, a decision the inspector said was prompted by the conduct allegations and by his romantic relationship with another member of his team. According to her evidence, Officer A’s demeanour shifted during their discussion. “I felt we were having a good discussion, but he became upset and looked at the floor,” she said. “I thought he was about to cry.” He then invoked time he claimed to have spent serving in Afghanistan, which led her to reverse the transfer decision. In mitigation, Sarah Allen, representing the officer, said her client “panicked”. The panel concluded his actions were dishonest.

The Afghanistan claim collapsed when the military informed his superiors he had never been deployed there. Officer A had said he served in the country and had “shot three people”. The panel also heard evidence that he whispered to a colleague, “I’m going to bully them out a job”, remarks the victim reportedly overheard, and that there were other incidents in which he was likely to have sworn at the student.

Officer A had first approached the inspector on 16 May 2024, saying his sergeant had told him a colleague had raised concerns about his alleged conduct. Allen told the hearing her client acted out of “frustration” and “lacked the required skills to deal with the situation in a better way”, adding that he had apologised to the victim straight away.

Deputy Chief Constable Damian Barratt said that, given the seriousness of the offences, “the only outcome was for Officer A to be dismissed without notice”. What remains open is how the force intends to supervise those it places in mentoring roles before misconduct escalates to a four-day hearing.