South Yorkshire Police officer dismissed for taking cocaine
South Yorkshire Police insist they're committed to tackling poor standards - after an officer was sacked for testing positive for cocaine.
South Yorkshire Police insist they're committed to tackling poor standards, after an officer was sacked for testing positive for cocaine.
A special constable - who was doing the job voluntarily - was also dismissed for racially abusive comments on social media.
PC Julian Broddle, 52, who was based at Rotherham Police Station was called for a random drugs test in March 2016. His urine tested positive for cocaine and more tests confirmed his use of the drug.
In a special case hearing yesterday, he was dismissed without notice after accepting he had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour and committed gross misconduct.
Also in March this year, a colleague of 21-year-old Oliver Paduch, who was a Special Constable, reported concerns about racially abusive social media comments from Paduch’s account.
It was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who ruled the case could be investigated internally. A review of his social media account found several comments and posts of a racially abusive nature.
Detective Superintendent Dave Barraclough, head of the force’s PSD, said: “These officers have discredited themselves and the force they work for. The public quite rightly expect and deserve much better from the officers that protect and serve them.
“We are absolutely committed to tackling misconduct and addressing poor standards that fall below what is expected, which is why we chose to have Special Case Hearings in these cases.
“These hearings can be applied for when it is in the public interest for the police officer concerned to cease to be an officer without delay – we don’t want individuals like this working for our force and I’m sure you, our public, don’t either.
“In both cases, it is as a result of our proactive approach to tackling poor standards of behaviour that Broddle and Paduch came to our attention. In Broddle’s case, it was a random drugs test of the sort routinely conducted within our organisation. In Paduch’s case, his colleague rightly recognised that what he had seen was entirely inappropriate and reported it immediately.
“These cases demonstrate our commitment to upholding high standards of behaviour in the force.”