'Stress ball' officer Matthew Horne faces 'no more action'

Deputy Chief Constable Matthew Horne was found guilty of three counts of misconduct in January

A deputy chief constable who hurled a stress ball at a colleague has been told he will face no further action at a disciplinary hearing.

Essex Police's Deputy Chief Constable Matthew Horne was found guilty of misconduct last month.

The misconduct panel recommended he should be given management advice.

Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said when taking into consideration Mr Horne's "outstanding career", he decided no further action was needed.

Mr Kavanagh said Mr Horne would not face any more action over his misconduct

Mr Horne was found by the panel in January to have sworn at, pushed and thrown a stress ball at more junior colleagues on three occasions between 2015 and 2016 - which he denied.

Mr Kavanagh considered what disciplinary action to take at Tuesday's hearing in Chelmsford, following the three counts of misconduct.

Mr Horne's lawyer John Beggs QC argued that no further action, rather than management advice, would be appropriate.

Mr Kavanagh said he had taken into account the pressures in the control room - which was said to have been in crisis during the misconduct hearing - and that there was no systematic bullying.

He added he had to consider if the finding of misconduct was enough and also what was proportionate to what amounted to "about 10 minutes of uncharacteristic... behaviour".

In a statement, Mr Kavanagh said Mr Horne and his family would have found the last year "punitive" and "he must learn" from his mistakes.

"This an extremely unfortunate series of events," he said.

After the hearing Mr Horne said: "I wish to wholeheartedly and unreservedly to apologise for any distress caused to my colleagues."

In January, the misconduct panel heard how Mr Horne had approached colleague Supt Glenn Maleary outside the control room.

He repeatedly swore at Supt Maleary with his fists clenched, it was told.

Mr Horne also pushed Ch Supt Carl O'Malley into a desk during a "professional disagreement" and later hurled a stress ball which hit him in the throat, it heard.

He is currently on secondment as deputy director general of operations at the National Crime Agency (NCA) until 31 March.

An NCA spokesman said: "We have been grateful for the work he has done while with us."