PC accused of groping woman would have been sacked

Barden was accused of groping a colleague during the night out in 2022

A police officer accused of groping a colleague during a night out would have been sacked if he had not resigned, a disciplinary hearing has ruled.

The panel found that Joshua Barden's actions amounted to sexual misconduct

The officer, who served at Northamptonshire Police, resigned on 21 March and did not attend the hearing on 15 May.

His conduct would have had "a significant impact on public confidence in the profession", the panel ruled.

Barden asked a female officer where she was interested in a relationship with him during a night out in 2022, the panel was told.

She had declined and walked away, but the colleague said Barden came up to her while she was talking to someone else and groped her chest.

When Barden was interviewed, he said he had consumed alcohol that night and could not remember the incident happening.

The witness provided a written statement about the incident earlier this year, which Barden did not challenge.

The hearing found that the misconduct had been "confined to a single episode and had been brief in duration".

Assistant Chief Constable Adam Ward, who chaired the panel, said there was "only one appropriate and proportionate conclusion that it could reach in the circumstances, namely, to impose disciplinary action".

"In practical terms, this means that had the former officer still been a member of the Northamptonshire police force, the panel would have dismissed him."