Former detective quit after dragging woman by hair
The former officer admitted her behaviour had been "out of character"
- Published
A former police officer who pulled a woman down to the ground by her hair on a night out would have been sacked had she not quit.
Former DC Jessica Covey worked for Thames Valley Police’s (TVP) child abuse investigations team in Windsor, Berkshire, before she quit last October.
She pleaded guilty to a public order offence after the scrap outside a Windsor bar in April 2023.
TVP’s chief constable Jason Hogg said Covey would have been dismissed.
An online accelerated misconduct hearing, which she did not attend, heard she was with her girlfriend and friends when the incident happened.
Covey was given a 12-month conditional discharge by magistrates in December, the hearing heard.
She had worked for TVP from 2010, when she was appointed a police community support officer (PCSO).
Mark McIntyre, Covey’s Police Federation representative, said she admitted her behaviour was “out of character” and inappropriate for a police officer.
But she said her group was subjected to a “repeated barrage” of homophobic abuse and that bouncers’ support was “lacking”.
Mr Hogg said, despite that, he was “not convinced" any sanction other than dismissal would have been appropriate given her own behaviour.
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