Sergeant sanctioned for falsifying training record

Richard Cundy worked at West Mercia Police headquarters

A misconduct hearing has found a police officer who lied about completing training he had not done would have been sacked if he was not already retired.

Richard Cundy was a firearms trainer at West Mercia Police headquarters in Worcester.

The 54-year-old served as a sergeant with the force.

Temporary Chief Constable Alex Murray said: "Falsifying a training record is very serious and required the necessary sanction.”

The accelerated hearing, chaired by Mr Murray, heard how Richard Cundy falsified his records in December 2022.

His actions came to light in a spot-check of lesson plans less than a fortnight later.

An investigation was launched, and the officer retired from the force a year later.

Mr Murray said: “You will have seen I have chaired a number of accelerated misconduct hearings in recent weeks.

"We continue to identify and take action against officers who have seriously breached the standards of professional behaviour."

He added the former officer's name would go on to the College of Policing’s Barred List, preventing him from working for a UK police service in the future.