Cleveland Police officer keeps her job after urinating in shop

Nine changing rooms at Urban Outfitters in York had to be closed so the changing room could be cleaned

A police officer has kept her job despite urinating in a clothes shop fitting room while drunk off-duty and then lying to her bosses about it.

PC Amelia Shearer, 24, of Cleveland Police was found guilty of gross misconduct following the incident in Urban Outfitters in York last year.

A disciplinary panel in Middlesbrough found her conduct was discreditable and she had been dishonest.

It decided not to sack her but instead issued a final written warning.

The panel's chairwoman, Ogheneruona Iguyovwe, said: "There is scope for her to be rehabilitated, there is scope for her to set the record straight and to begin on a new path."

Ms Iguyovwe had earlier pointed out that police officers were "expected to maintain high standards of behaviour" and should consider if their actions might cause a loss of confidence in the police.

"Officers are required to act with integrity and honesty at all times," she said.

'Undeployable'

During the three-day hearing, the panel was told probationer PC Shearer had been in York with a friend while off-duty on 11 September.

In under four hours Middlesbrough-based officer drank half a bottle of Prosecco, three cocktails and a Jack Daniels and Coke before going to the store.

While there she is alleged to have asked a sales assistant if the store had toilets, and when told it did not she went into a changing room cubicle.

PC Shearer, who studied a Masters in criminal investigations before joining the police in 2019, admitted she had been drunk and described herself and her friend as "loud and giggly".

She denied relieving herself in the store.

She claimed to have used the changing rooms to adjust her bra - but had told her superior Insp Christian Duree she had been trying on clothes during a phone call the day after it happened.

She explained that she only gave him an "abridged version" of events but Cleveland Police accused her of lying - and the panel agreed.

Olivia Checa-Dover, acting for the force, said the conclusion that PC Shearer had been dishonest meant she was now "undeployable".

She said the fact the officer had lied while being questioned on oath would have to be disclosed to defence lawyers in any future investigations she carried out.

Joan Smith, for the defendant, said her client had consistently denied the claims, had good references and her performance had been described by her inspector as "excellent".

She said the officer had the potential to be "exceptional" and to "flourish in this police force with the appropriate guidance".