Gross misconduct hearing for Leicestershire cop already on a final warning after 'abusive' phone call

A Leicestershire policewoman who is already on a final warning is facing a fresh gross misconduct hearing. PC Beth Hoey is accused of asking on-duty colleagues to “conduct 'safe and well' checks on someone known to her, but asked for it not to be reported through the appropriate policing channels”.

The incident allegedly happened while she was on a night out, and she further asked the two officers to pick her up, Leicestershire Police said. She was “threatening and abusive" towards them on the call, the force claimed.

If the allegations are proven, they equal gross misconduct, Leicestershire Police added. PC Hoey is already on a final written warning which was issued following a hearing in March last year.

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That warning was given following another night out. In May 2022, PC Hoey was out in Worcester town centre in the early hours having been drinking heavily throughout the day and evening before. While coming to the end of their night, PC Hoey approached two officers from West Mercia Police in her drunken state.

She appeared to have lost a friend with whom she had been drinking, referred to in the hearing as Witness A. PC Hoey approached the officer and said: "Go and find [redacted]… I've f*****g lost her, she's p****d out of her face".

The hearing was told that when the West Mercia officer told PC Hoey she was busy and walked away, PC Hoey shouted: "Do you f*****g job. You're f*****g cops."

PC Hoey later made a 999 call to the local force's control room, providing her collar number and reporting that her friends - referred to as Witness A and H - were missing. The panel heard that later in the call, she criticised the officers with whom she had interacted, swearing and claiming that they were "sat in a police van not doing anything".

She rang again 20 minutes later to inform the force that Witness A was safe and well. The panel on that occasion concluded that PC Hoey breached standards of professional behaviour, namely, through discreditable conduct, "authority respect and courtesy" and honesty and integrity. However, it was considered that her behaviour was confined to a single, relatively short episode and the amount of alcohol the officer consumed led her to believe her friend was missing and at risk.

PC Hoey accepted responsibility for her actions and showed "genuine remorse" for her behaviour, according to the panel, which also considered a number of positive character references. She was handed a Final Written Warning for a period of two years from March 23, 2023.

A hearing on the latest allegations against PC Hoey will be held at the Leicestershire Police Headquarters in Enderby this week.