Latest news with #RachelFarrell
BBC News
24-05-2025
- BBC News
Dorset police officer jailed over 'chokehold' offence
A former police officer has been jailed for eight months after admitting a charge of intentional non-fatal Tyler McWalter, 30, placed a man in a chokehold, wrapping his arm around the victim's neck and pulling him to the incident happened outside the Kika Beach Bar on the Esplanade in Weymouth, Dorset, in the early hours of 14 September was sentenced at Southampton Magistrates' Court on Friday. At the time of the incident, McWalter was a serving Dorset Police officer but was off duty. He was suspended from duty after pleading guilty in Tuesday, a misconduct hearing found his actions amounted to gross misconduct and a breach of the standards of professional behaviour. He was dismissed without addition to the custodial sentence, McWalter was fined £ Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said the force will "continue to take robust action against officers whose behaviour falls below the high standards we expect of them, whether that is on or off duty". You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- BBC News
Dorset police officer dismissed over 'chokehold' offence
A police officer has been dismissed by a force without notice after admitting a charge of non-fatal Tyler McWalter previously pleaded guilty to the offence, which involved a man being put in a "chokehold" during an altercation in Weymouth.A Dorset Police misconduct hearing on Tuesday found the incident amounted to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour, and was gross 30-year-old, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, was dismissed without notice and has been placed on the police barred list. The incident outside Kika Beach Bar on the Esplanade on 14 September 2024 left the victim suffering haemorrhaging to his left eye as well as a sore neck and throat, Weymouth Magistrates' Court previously McWalter was suspended from duty after pleading guilty to a charge of non-fatal strangulation in Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said it was "very disappointing" to hear about an officer being involved in an "incident of public place violence such as this"."We expect our officers and staff to adhere to the highest standards of behaviour even when they are off duty and behaviour such as this simply will not be tolerated," she said."We remain absolutely committed to ensuring officers whose actions fall below the high standards we expect of them are held to account and we want to send a message that there is no place in our organisation for someone who commits this kind of violent act."PC McWalter is currently on bail and is due to be sentenced on 3 July. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police officer admits unlawful access to personal data
A former police officer has admitted accessing the personal data of members of the public "purely for their own knowledge". A Dorset Police misconduct panel found the officer used a records management system between January 2023 and June 2024 without having a "legitimate or lawful reason to do so". They were found guilty of gross misconduct on Tuesday and will be placed on the police barred list. The force decided not to name the officer, who has now retired, as part of the proceedings. In August 2024 the officer admitted being guilty of an offence under section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and received a conditional caution. During the hearing, they said after accessing some of the records they had contacted the person who was the subject of the data. The force said there was no evidence that any investigation was compromised as a result, or that the former officer had disclosed the information to anybody else. Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said the former officer's actions "constituted repeated unlawful behaviour". "They directly contravened the training they had received in this respect," she said. "I hope that the outcome of the hearing shows the importance we place on integrity. "This former officer's conduct fell well below the expected standards of anyone working in our organisation, discrediting not just Dorset Police but policing as a whole." During the hearing, it was noted that the former officer admitted the offences at the first opportunity and had shown remorse and regret. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. More than 140 police faced misconduct allegations Volunteer officer 'threatened' supermarket workers Police in WhatsApp chat guilty of gross misconduct Dorset Police
BBC News
15-04-2025
- BBC News
Former Dorset Police officer admits unlawful access to data
A former police officer has admitted accessing the personal data of members of the public "purely for their own knowledge". A Dorset Police misconduct panel found the officer used a records management system between January 2023 and June 2024 without having a "legitimate or lawful reason to do so".They were found guilty of gross misconduct on Tuesday and will be placed on the police barred force decided not to name the officer, who has now retired, as part of the proceedings. In August 2024 the officer admitted being guilty of an offence under section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and received a conditional caution. During the hearing, they said after accessing some of the records they had contacted the person who was the subject of the force said there was no evidence that any investigation was compromised as a result, or that the former officer had disclosed the information to anybody Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said the former officer's actions "constituted repeated unlawful behaviour"."They directly contravened the training they had received in this respect," she said."I hope that the outcome of the hearing shows the importance we place on integrity. "This former officer's conduct fell well below the expected standards of anyone working in our organisation, discrediting not just Dorset Police but policing as a whole."During the hearing, it was noted that the former officer admitted the offences at the first opportunity and had shown remorse and regret. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
07-02-2025
- BBC News
Dorset Police volunteer police officer defied orders
A volunteer police officer who "threatened" supermarket workers despite him being ordered not to act as one would have been sacked had he not Leigh-Anderson was told by senior Dorset Police officers not to act as a special constable on 7 September 2023 but the next day did entered a Tesco Express in Kinson, Bournemouth, said he was there on police business, which he knew was untrue, and demanded the store manager's phone Police's deputy chief constable Rachel Farrell said "tackling unethical or unacceptable behaviour", like that displayed by Mr Leigh-Anderson, remains a priority for the force. Supermarket staff said they felt "intimidated and threatened" by Mr Leigh-Anderson to the point that they had no choice but to give the manager's phone force said the workers feared being arrested if they did not an investigation, Mr Leigh-Anderson was suspended and he quit the force in January. Dorset Police held a hearing on Monday, which concluded he committed gross misconduct and would have been dismissed. Special constables are unpaid but work closely with regular officers. They wear the same uniform and have the same powers as regular officers. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
