Domestic abuse allegations proven against former Sussex Police officer

Officer X committed violent, abusive, controlling and/or coercive behaviour towards two of his ex-partners.

Author: Vanessa BellringerPublished 14th Mar 2023

A former Sussex Police officer has had accusations of domestic abuse against two women proven against him.

Officer X - who can't be named as he has been granted anonymity - committed violent, abusive, controlling and/or coercive behaviour towards two of his ex-partners.

A panel at his misconduct hearing said he would have been dismissed without notice but had already resigned.

Superintendent Petra Lazar, Deputy Head of Professional Standards, said: "Though this case did not meet the threshold for criminal charges, it was important to persist with misconduct proceedings.

"Police-perpetrated violence will absolutely not be tolerated and we will continue to use all the resources and powers at our disposal to prevent, detect and deal with it robustly."

Sussex Police said it is the responsibility of the Legally Qualified Chair (LQC) alone to determine whether or not a hearing is partially or wholly held in public or in private, and whether any participant should be anonymised.

Superintendent Lazar added: "We expect our officers to act with the utmost integrity, and in accordance with the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Behaviour, and we have invested in a comprehensive programme of cultural change towards challenging, reporting and tackling unethical or unprofessional behaviour.

“Criminal behaviour, misconduct, and misogyny have no place in Sussex Police.

"The actions of this officer in this case fell far short of the standards we expect, which is reflected in the findings by the panel."

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