Police officer who hit a member of the public in a Cardiff bar sacked

PC Simon Rohman had to be restrained by door staff

Author: Gavin RutterPublished 2nd Dec 2022

An off-duty police officer who punched a member of the public in a bar in Cardiff has been sacked, following the outcome of a gross misconduct hearing.

PC Simon Rohman had to be restrained by door staff following a 'physical and verbal' altercation with two people on 20 September last year.

During the altercation, CCTV footage showed PC Rohman hit a member of the public, which lead to him being arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

An investigation from Gwent Police’s professional standards department found that the former officer had breached the professional standards behaviour regarding ‘authority, respect and courtesy’ ‘discreditable conduct’ and ‘use of force’.

In an accelerated gross misconduct hearing, Chief Constable Pam Kelly ruled that the officer’s behaviour amounted to gross misconduct, taking the decision to dismiss the officer.

Chief Constable Pam Kelly, said:

“Our communities deserve the highest of standards from officers. This off duty behaviour falls way below that standard.

“PC Rohman had every opportunity to walk away from a situation that was volatile, and this was much more than ‘two minutes of madness’.

“It was totally inappropriate behaviour and a standard I’m not prepared to accept at Gwent Police,.

“The vast majority of police officers, staff and volunteers, who work for Gwent Police conduct themselves impeccably and work tirelessly to protect the public.

“Those very few who choose to breach the standards expected of them undermine the public’s trust in policing.

“There is no room for this type of conduct in Gwent Police.”

The officer will now be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.

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