Police officer guilty of gross misconduct after brawl in pub

A former police constable has been found guilty of gross misconduct after a drunken fight at a village pub.

The unnamed officer was employed by Leicestershire Police at the time of the incident in Croft in January 2022.

The disciplinary panel heard he was off duty when he became involved in a scuffle with another customer in a pub and then a further altercation outside.

And it concluded he would have been dismissed without notice had he not already left the force.

The hearing was told the former officer had already been drinking when he arrived at the pub at about 23:00 GMT on 21 January.

He then became involved in a row with another customer and "backed him up to the bar".

The officer was then pushed away, but grabbed the customer and the pair fell to the floor, before the officer had to be held back by at least two other patrons.

About two hours later the officer then became involved in an altercation with a man he knew in the outside smoking area, where the former officer was hit in the face, then tried to throw punches at the man who hit him, which did not connect.

As a result of the altercation, the officer needed hospital treatment for an injury to his lip.

The former officer did not attend the misconduct hearing but in a statement he denied his involvement in the "scuffle" and the accusation of physical assault.

He maintained that he attempted to deescalate the situation.

However, the panel concluded that the former officer was intoxicated and behaved aggressively towards a member of the public and threatened violence towards him.

It found this was a breach of professional standards.

The former officer resigned from Leicestershire Police before the misconduct hearing took place.

The panel concluded if he had still been working for the force he would have been dismissed without notice.

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