PC slept while carrying loaded guns - hearing

A firearms officer who briefly fell asleep on duty while in charge of a loaded assault rifle and a self-loading pistol has been given a written warning.

A South Yorkshire Police misconduct hearing was told PC Samad Sagir had since expressed remorse over the incident in January 2022, stating that his young daughter was struggling to sleep at the time.

The panel, which sat earlier this month, found that while the incident took place when PC Sagir was a passenger in a police vehicle, with no risk to the public, it still amounted to misconduct.

In its conclusion published this week, the panel ruled PC Sagir's actions had breached policing standards and imposed an 18-month written warning.

The hearing, which took place at South Yorkshire Police's professional standards department in Chapeltown, near Sheffield, last week, was told PC Sagir fell asleep with a loaded Heckler and Koch G36 Carbine and a loaded Glock 17 self-loading pistol after being deployed to search woodland at about 04:00 GMT on 12 January 2022.

He had been a passenger in a police vehicle and was asleep for about a minute before being woken by a radio message, the panel heard.

Members were told there had been no possibility of either weapon being discharged accidentally as safety mechanisms were in place.

PC Sagir, who the panel was told had also fallen asleep on two separate training days, said he recognised he should not sleep on duty and should not attend for duty if he was not fit to do so.

Giving him a written warning, the panel accepted his actions had been unintentional and had not borne any consequences.

Their report added: "He readily acknowledges his error and has admitted the allegations.

"He has shown remorse for his conduct and genuine insight."

In a separate matter considered by the panel, it was alleged that PC Sagir had behaved in an inappropriate or sexually harassing way towards colleagues.

The panel found that those allegations were not proved and dismissed them.

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