Officer guilty of gross misconduct over affair

The unnamed sergeant resigned from Humberside Police

A police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct after conducting an affair with a colleague while on duty.

The unnamed Humberside sergeant visited the woman's home a number of times during his shift using an unmarked police car.

A misconduct tribunal heard the officer admitted the behaviour and had resigned from the force.

The panel concluded that had the officer still been serving he would have been dismissed without notice.

In its report, the tribunal found that there was no actual harm to policing by the officer's actions, but added "there was nevertheless a real risk that his absenting himself from duty and/or misuse of a police vehicle could have had an adverse impact on policing".

The panel also said the former sergeant had caused "significant reputational harm to the police service".

In mitigation, the tribunal said the officer had a long career with the police and was a "person of good character".

The officer did not attend the hearing and had no legal representation.

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