Hertfordshire: Former police sergeant barred for gross misconduct

Former police sergeant Tom Daly would have been sacked had he not resigned his post, the panel said

A former police sergeant who had "improper sexual relationships" with three junior officers has been barred from serving in any force.

Allegations were "found proved" against Tom Daly, formerly of Hertfordshire Police, at a misconduct hearing.

Mr Daly was accused of controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm - and a breach of confidentiality.

The panel found he "acted intentionally and deliberately".

The disciplinary panel was told the former officer was in an "intimate, personal" relationship with an unnamed junior constable.

An allegation that the constable was punched in the face during sex and sustained bruising to her wrists during "violent, aggressive intercourse" in a police station was supported by photographs shown to the panel.

The constable was criticised by Mr Daly for wearing "revealing" clothing and the panel heard that the former officer had taken money from her bank account, "rummaged through" her locker and checked her phone.

The panel also heard in witness statements how the constable was assaulted during a trip to Edinburgh, sustaining a bloodshot eye.

"Despite having a 'playful' sex life, on two occasions PS Daly went far too far, once asphyxiating her to the point she passed out and on another occasion punching her to the face causing bruising," the report said.

The former officer did not attend the disciplinary hearing and was not represented

It also said Mr Daly had "terminated his relationship" with the constable and became involved with a second junior officer.

"That PS Daly can be seen to have been romantically concerned with three junior female officers further demonstrates a lack of judgement on his part, and a failure to recognise appropriate professional and hierarchical boundaries," the panel report said.

Mr Daly also engaged in work-related social media messages with another junior member of staff "with whom he had a sexual relationship" in which he discussed colleagues under his leadership and "confidential matters about them to which only he would have been privy".

This amounted to a breach of confidentiality, the force panel said.

The report revealed that Mr Daly did not attend the panel hearing and was not represented, and had "disengaged with the disciplinary process since he resigned his post on 8 October 2022".

The panel found that Mr Daly had acted in an "arguably reckless rather than deliberate" way, but he "ought to have foreseen the risk of harm".

The disciplinary hearing said Mr Daly failed "to recognise appropriate professional and hierarchical boundaries"

If the former sergeant was still serving, he would have been dismissed without notice, the panel said.

The hearing was not contested and the evidence was not challenged, it added, concluding Mr Daly was "fully responsible for the conduct alleged".

His name will be included in the Police Barred List.

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