A Yeovil police officer was barred after a misconduct hearing proved he pursued an inappropriate relationship.
The hearing chair granted PC Z anonymity due to genuine fears for witness safety. Publicizing the officer’s name could cause them harm.
The hearing occurred on Wednesday, February 19. PC Z used his work phone to contact a woman in several instances that were not work-related.
PC Z, a response officer working in Yeovil, went to the woman’s home for no clear reason. He contacted her after an incident he wasn’t involved in.
He joined the police force in 2022. He contacted the woman 69 times in four months, on nine separate days. He used texts and calls, and police records had no clear record of this contact.
PC Z met the woman during an investigation where she was neither a victim nor a suspect. He later resigned from the police in September 2023.
PC Z admitted contacting her without a policing purpose and knew this action was wrong. He also admitted to pursuing an emotional relationship with her. He further admitted trying to hide the relationship by asking her to delete their messages and doing the same on his work phone.
A member of the public reported PC Z in March 2023, leading to a full investigation into his actions. The IOPC initially reviewed this and agreed to a local investigation. Investigators examined his phone records and found many texts and calls to the woman. Some text contents were recovered, showing contact during work hours and days off. Some texts had been deleted.
The investigation led to a misconduct hearing, even though PC Z had already resigned. Gross misconduct was proven, and he was added to a police barred list. The police stated that he abused his power and that his behavior harmed a vulnerable person.
Police hope others will report misconduct to encourage trust in policing. They thanked the person who reported PC Z’s actions. Furthermore, police support naming officers in misconduct cases, but respect the chair’s decision that anonymity proved needed in this particular case.