Police officer 'mortified' by footage of alleged groping

All the incidents are alleged to have occurred at a leaving party at Caernarfon Rugby Club in March 2024

A police officer accused of groping colleagues at a party said she was "mortified" at seeing footage of herself on CCTV.

PC Pamela Pritchard, 29, told a misconduct hearing in Colwyn Bay, Conwy, that she was sorry for what happened at a colleague's leaving do at Caernarfon Rugby Club on 29 March 2024.

CCTV shown at the tribunal showed her "twerking" on the dance floor and moving her hand towards a male colleague's groin, making him step back.

PC Pritchard, who joined North Wales Police as a trainee in 2023, admitted her drunken behaviour was inappropriate, but denied it was gross misconduct.

PC Pritchard told the hearing she remembered little of what happened at the party.

She said: "My behaviour that evening was inappropriate, I've never acted like that before.

"I'm absolutely mortified at what's happened - I don't recognise the person I see on that CCTV - all I can do is apologise."

Breaking down in tears she said she felt she had let down the police, her family and herself.

"I've had panic attacks and nightmares since I was arrested over this," she said.

"I felt people thought I was a sexual predator."

PC Pritchard was shown CCTV of her allegedly squeezing a female colleague's breasts on the dance floor.

She told the hearing she could not remember what happened.

"I was just dancing with her," she said.

"I am sorry she's having nightmares because of what happened.

"I am sorry for the way she feels, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but I did not sexually assault her."

PC Pritchard was asked about another male colleague, known only as "Police Constable B", who she is accused of groping twice and trying to kiss.

She told the hearing she spent part of her probation period working with him, during which she said he would talk about watching porn and sexual fetishes.

Shown CCTV of her allegedly groping PC B at the party, she said she believed he had shown her an explicit video on his phone and she had put her hand downwards and shoved him away "to tell him to pack it in".

The hearing was previously told she tried to twice kiss a male colleague, grabbed a female colleague's breasts, and tried to kiss an inspector at the party.