Police officer banned after making sexual remarks to female colleague at Christmas party
A former police officer from South Gloucestershire, who behaved inappropriately and intimidatingly during an off-duty social event has been found guilty of gross misconduct by a hearing panel.
Connor Shefford, formerly based in South Gloucestershire, would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. Shefford will now be barred from policing and other law enforcement agencies.
The misconduct hearing was led by a Legally Qualified Chair independent of the police force and took place earlier today, Thursday, September 26. The panel heard how the ex-police constable, who joined Avon and Somerset Police in 2018, was thrown out of a Bristol city centre venue on Saturday 17 December, 2022, for his aggressive and intimidating behaviour towards a female door staff member.
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Shefford then went to a second venue on Clifton Triangle where he made persistent and unwanted sexualised comments towards a woman.
Temporary Superintendent Sharon Baker, the current head of the Professional Standards Department, said: "We began an investigation into this former officer's actions after receiving an anonymous internal report.
"We found clear evidence that Connor Shefford engaged in completely inappropriate behaviour at an off-duty social event. His behaviour was completely wrong and wholly unacceptable, aggravated by the fact he was, at the time, a police officer and required to uphold the high standards of professional conduct expected of him, both on and off-duty.
"His behaviour was completely wrong and wholly unacceptable, aggravated by the fact he was, at the time, a police officer and required to uphold the high standards of professional conduct expected of him, both on and off-duty.
"We're grateful for the anonymous report which enabled us to identify and robustly deal with this incident and remove this officer from duty, ensuring he isn't able to work in policing or law enforcement again."
BristolLive reports Barrister Mark Ley-Morgan, representing the force, said the case related to a shift night out on December 17, 2022, and that the officer went to three venues. After describing the events of that evening, Mr Ley-Morgan said Shefford became "extremely intoxicated" and even he identified himself as a police officer, as if to hold "some sort of power over" over the female bouncer.
“It was as if he was untouchable. When he eventually gave up trying he kissed her on the cheek and he kissed her male colleague as well. She was disappointed and she refers to all the adverse publicity that the police have received over the last four or five years and she expresses disappointment that she’s now witnessed poor behaviour by a police officer first hand.
“It’s clearly behaviour that undermines confidence in the police service and shows the police in a bad light.” He said PC Shefford made his way to Yia Mass bar in Park Street where there were a lot of other officers on their Christmas nights out and that he was asked to leave there too because he was being “annoying and over-familiar with people he did not know”.
Mr Lay-Morgan went on to explain a female colleague of Shefford gave a statement where she felt "uncomfortable" during her interaction with Shefford.
She said he told her crudely that he wanted to have sex with her. The female said: “I didn’t feel upset but I felt uncomfortable. The officer was not with it. He was highly intoxicated, his eyes weren’t there, he was all over the place, he was slurring his words, he was stumbling around.
“He wasn’t getting the hint that I wasn’t interested. My team were looking out for me. My colleagues stepped in to move me away from Connor about three times.”
Avon & Somerset Police Federation rep PC Marc Flavell, representing former PC Shefford, said the female constable did engage in sexual conversation with the officer throughout the evening. He said: “She was quite explicit in her wishes. She was nibbling his ear while dancing.”
PC Flavell said she told the officer she wanted to have sex with him. He said the female was being flirtatious and using highly sexual language and she was reciprocal.
PC Flavell said there was no evidence that he identified himself as an officer at The Mount Without or that he used that to exercise power. He said PC Shefford had ADHD which could impair his understanding of social encounters.
The Legally Qualified Chair said: “The panel was not satisfied that former PC Shefford acted in an aggressive manner but due to his size relative to [the bouncer], she may have perceived him as such. We decided that a final written warning was not sufficient in a case of persistent, sexually motivated advances towards a female, even when that female was a friend and a work colleague and when both were intoxicated.”
The panel found the officer breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct.”