A North Yorkshire Police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct after subjecting three women to abuse and controlling and coercive behaviour.

The officer, who was referred to as “constable Z” at the hearing, appeared before a police disciplinary panel held in Northallerton on August 30 and 31.

The hearing was held in private after chairman Gerald Sydenham found that the public interest in holding the panel in open session was “outweighed to a considerable degree by the need to protect the health of those involved”.

Police misconduct panels are normally held in public with officers named.

The hearing included Constable Z, who was diagnosed with “mixed depressive and anxiety disorder”, as well as other “vulnerable persons”.

Abuse and coercive behaviour

It was alleged that the officer subjected the women, who were not named, to numerous instances of abuse over three separate time periods.

The first victim, who was referred to as “female person A”, was verbally abused, monitored by constable Z as to how she spent her time and subjected to physical abuse such as having a knife placed to her throat and strangled.

The hearing report said it was also alleged that constable Z threatened that her son, aged 8, “would end up in a ‘body bag’ or words to that effect”.

Those offences took place between 1998 and 2001.

Meanwhile, female person B, who was abused between December 2005 and March 2016, was subjected to seven allegations of abuse and controlling or coercive behaviour.

The report said that constable Z “attempted to belittle her and/or reduce her confidence by telling her that she was fat, lazy, ugly and other such insults”.

It was also alleged that he isolated her from her friends and family, controlled and monitored how she spent her time and turned up at her workplace unannounced “in furtherance of your attempts to control and/or coerce”.

Person C was also subjected to five allegations of abuse between July 2016 and February 2017.

These included physical abuse, monitoring how she spent her time and accusing her of cheating or being interested in other men.

She was also subjected to verbal abuse, which included “accusing her of having a mental health problem and/or being an alcoholic, making reference to her weight and telling her she was unable to “keep her legs shut” or words to that effect”.

The hearing, which was chaired by Mr Sydenham, Amanda Harvey and Superintendent Fran Naughton, found the allegations amounted to gross misconduct.

Constable Z was dismissed without notice.

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The hearing gave “significant reasonable adjustments” for the officer to attend the misconduct panel after it was found he suffered from “mixed depressive and anxiety disorder such as being sufficient to constitute a disability as defined by law”.

However, in its reasons, the panel found that constable Z was “highly culpable and blameworthy for his own repeated gross misconduct even after allowing for a significant recognition of his disability and health issue”.

The report added that his behaviour amount to significant harm to the reputation of the force.

It said:

“The harm caused was very significant both to the reputation of officer Z and the reputation of the police service.

“Officer Z fundamentally harmed his own reputation and the trust placed in him by North Yorkshire Police.

“The effect of his gross misconduct upon the three female victims of his behaviour, the police service, his colleagues, public confidence in and the trust placed in the police service was extremely damaging and it is likely to continue to be corrosive in undermining public confidence in policing for a considerable time.”

Following the hearing, deputy chief constable Mabs Hussain said: 

“There is absolutely no place for this behaviour in the police service. 

“We demand the highest level of integrity from our officers and staff to ensure that the people we serve can have complete trust in us. 

“The misconduct outcome sends a clear message and reassurance to the public that we will not tolerate such appalling behaviour from anyone within our ranks and will ensure action is taken.”

A paramedic who lived in Pateley Bridge took his own life the day after he lost his job with the NHS, an inquest has heard.

Andrew Pickering was 57 when he was told he had committed gross misconduct at work, leading to his immediate dismissal from Yorkshire Ambulance Service on February 2 last year.

The inquest held today heard Mr Pickering had attempted to take his own life at home the same day, but was unsuccessful. He had gone to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance, where he was assessed by the mental health crisis team in the early hours of February 3.

Senior crisis clinician Glen Wilson, from the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in the Harrogate district, told the inquest:

“He openly engaged with us. He was happy to talk to us. He answered questions about himself.

“Although he had [tried to take his own life], he then alerted someone to his actions. He agreed to come to the [emergency] department to be checked over. He agreed to be seen. He agreed to talk about the events leading up to it.”

Mr Wilson said Mr Pickering, a former RAF serviceman, agreed to follow-up appointments over the next few days and went home at around 6am.

Today’s inquest heard the loss of his job followed a six-month investigation, during which he could have been placed on other duties that would not have involved dealing with the public.

However, the inquest heard Mr Pickering was “embarrassed” by this and was instead signed off work sick. He had not told his family about the problems he faced.

‘Desperate person’

It had also been a stressful period in his personal life, including the breakdown of his 27-year marriage, which saw him move out of the family home he shared with his wife and two teenage children.

His former wife questioned why someone who had attempted suicide was sent home alone. She added:

“A desperate person was left to go home on his own in a taxi in the early hours of the morning to an empty home.”

Mr Wilson said follow-up phone calls were due to be made that day, and Mr Pickering would have been visited daily for at least three days by someone from the crisis team. He said:

“He was saying to me he worked in this field, he can see the devastation on families when people end their lives. He said he would never do that to his family and he was happy to engage with us.”

Staff at the crisis service called Mr Pickering four times between 9.30am and 1.15pm on February 3. They received no answer but, knowing he had been in hospital through the night, thought he must be catching up on sleep.

A friend and colleague, Jonathan Mellor, who knew Mr Pickering had gone to hospital the previous night, called by his house at 10.30am. Seeing Mr Pickering was not yet dressed, he suggested the pair go for a walk later and said he would return in a couple of hours.

When Mr Mellor returned at 12.50pm, he found Mr Pickering had taken his own life. Coroner Jonathan Heath today concluded he had died by suicide.

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The inquest, held at the Coroner’s Court in Northallerton, heard Mr Pickering had been an “extremely popular and hard-working” paramedic but had struggled to deal with difficult family circumstances, leading to the situation that saw him put through the disciplinary process – which had lasted six months instead of the recommended four.

At one point, the inquest heard, comparisons were drawn between Mr Pickering and Wayne Couzens, the police officer who murdered Sarah Everard.

Prior to joining YAS in 2009, he had been in the RAF and served in Afghanistan soon after the birth of his son in 2007. His former wife said:

“He came back a very different person. Things were never quite the same.

“Over the years, I asked him to talk to someone, but he didn’t. He wasn’t abusive or violent, but he was more withdrawn.”

The inquest heard Yorkshire Ambulance Service had undertaken a ‘lessons learnt’ review following Mr Pickering’s death.

His brother Richard questioned the way the investigation following the death had been carried out. He said the family felt they had not been listened to and were not trusted to be part of the process.

YAS head of employee relations Alison Cockerill said:

“It was decided it should be internal. We were aware Andrew had deliberately kept some of what was happening from his family and we were still trying to navigate what that meant for us in terms of respecting Andrew’s wishes.”

Mr Heath said in future, the trust should consider adopting a policy of explaining the process to the family at the outset and showing them the findings at the end.

Mrs Cockerill said, following the review, YAS had put in place new measures to support people who were going through disciplinary processes, including assessing the impact on the individual alongside the risk to the public.

All managers and supervisors would now receive skills training to help them support people subject to disciplinary investigations, she added.

Two North Yorkshire Police officers have been dismissed after sending racist text messages between each other.

Detective constable Danielle Kirby and police constable James Mills were alleged to have breached the force’s standards of professional behaviour.

Both were dismissed following a gross misconduct hearing at the force’s headquarters in Northallerton.

The pair exchanged WhatsApp messages which were found to be racist between December 2018 and March 2019.

Mabs Hussain, deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“The racist language and sentiments contained in the series of WhatsApp messages are repulsive.

“It has no place in society, let alone from people who have sworn an oath to uphold the highest standards of fairness, integrity and respect to all people.

“The evidence in this case was damning, and it is only right that the panel upheld the gross misconduct and the officers have been dismissed from North Yorkshire Police.”

Gerry Sydenham, who chaired the panel, said:

“The messages exchanged by former PC Mills and former DC Kirby contained appalling racist comments which were egregious in nature and content.

“The corrosive effect of such racist gross misconduct upon public confidence in policing cannot be understated.

“It is intolerable and devastating to the good work of other police officers who try daily to build the public’s trust and confidence in policing.

“Both officers undermined the public’s trust and the trust of their police force in themselves in a grave and shocking manner, causing very significant and potentially lasting damage to public confidence in policing.”

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More than 700 complaints were made against North Yorkshire Police officers in a year, the force has revealed.

The 740 complaints from members of the public were made against 352 individual officers between April 2021 and April 2022.

The statistic has been released by North Yorkshire Police as part of its response to national news stories about David Carrick. The Met Police officer had several allegations made against him over a period of 20 years, but did not face any charges or misconduct proceedings at work.

This week, he admitted 49 charges of sexual abuse, including rape, beginning as early as 2003. He was only arrested in October 2021.

The Met has since said more than 1,600 allegations against more than 1,000 officers and staff were being reviewed as a result of Carrick’s case.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“North Yorkshire Police takes all misconduct allegations extremely seriously and are very aware of the serious damage caused to trust in the police service by recent events in the Metropolitan Police.

“The force has taken a number of measures to improve its already robust vetting process to root out those people who are not fit to serve.

“North Yorkshire Police is one of the few forces that handle complaints independently through the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office to provide an additional level of scrutiny.”

Of the 740 complaints made against North Yorkshire Police officers, the force said there could be several relating to a single incident.

Those complaints did not amount to the same thing as misconduct, it said: some could be about an officer failing to keep a victim of crime updated on progress in their case, for example.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Police how many of the complaints were matters of misconduct, or how many related to allegations of sexual offences, abuse, coercive control or other related offences.

We also asked how many complaints were investigated and how many resulted in disciplinary action being taken against the officer, but we had not received a response by the time of publication.

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The force publishes details of gross misconduct hearings on its website. Those cases reveal that, during the same period (April 2021 to April 2022), five police constables, one sergeant and two detective constables were found to have behaved in ways amounting to gross misconduct.

Three of those cases involved inappropriate relationships with victims of crime or other people known to the police. One followed a conviction for possession of indecent images of children.

North Yorkshire Police has been part of a pilot scheme checking all vetted staff against the police national database (PND) every month, aiming to ensure any complaints and contact made with other forces would be noticed by North Yorkshire’s professional standards department.

A recent report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Service highlighted North Yorkshire Police’s efforts in vetting, misconduct and misogyny. It recommended all forces should make use of the PND to check their own officers and staff – and this week, it was announced all forces in England and Wales will begin doing so.

The spokesperson added:

“The vast majority of our officers and staff are honest, hardworking and act with integrity. But we are not complacent and know that there will be a number within our force who are not.

“When misconduct is found, we will take action. We encourage anyone who has any concerns about an officer or staff member they have come into contact with, to please report it to us.”

A police officer found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in Harrogate is set to face a gross misconduct inquiry.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it has recommended the inquiry into Detective Constable Quita Passmore after investigating the collision.

North Yorkshire Police had already said an internal investigation would be held, but the IOPC today confirmed its recommendation for a gross misconduct inquiry had been accepted by the force. The organisation had passed its findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, saying DC Passmore had driven through a red light at high speed without stopping, colliding with another car.

IOPC Regional Director Miranda Biddle said:

“We recognise that police officers undertake a difficult role within our communities however it is necessary that when undertaking their role they follow the policies, procedures and guidance set by their forces. On this occasion our investigation found that DC Passmore drove dangerously when responding to an emergency call which resulted in two members of the public receiving serious injuries.

“The two women and their families have understandably suffered a great deal of stress and anxiety since the incident and we hope that [this] verdict offers them a degree of closure.

“We believe that DC Passmore has a case to answer for gross misconduct. North Yorkshire Police have accepted our recommendation and a hearing will be scheduled by them in due course.”

DC Passmore was this week handed a 10-month jail sentence suspended for two years after being found guilty at a trial at Bradford Crown Court. She was banned from driving for two years, after which she will have to take an enhanced driving test.

The court heard she was responding to an emergency call and driving through the junction of Otley Road and Cold Bath Road in May 2018. She hit a red Vauxhall Corsa, causing broken bones and a punctured lung to driver Patricia Bulmer and passenger Janet Roberton. DC Passmore was also injured.

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