Latest news with #police misconduct
RNZ News
16-07-2025
- RNZ News
Police officer slept with woman after routine traffic stop
The officer also left police equipment at the woman's address and shared digital images of police activity with her. File photo. Photo: 123RF A police officer who stopped a woman at a routine traffic stop used the police database to make enquires about the woman and had consensual sex with her the next night. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has released its summary findings of a police investigation which looked into two officers' conduct with a member of the public. It said Officer B and his field training officer Officer A were working together on a nightshift when they initially conducted a routine traffic stop of Ms Z and queried her in the police database. "Officer A subsequently contacted Ms Z by text message, resulting in an inappropriate conversation, which Officer B was unaware of. "The officers separately conducted several further queries of Ms Z in the police database towards the end of their shift." The next night, the officers drove an intoxicated Ms Z home after she called Officer A and requested a ride home from her workplace. They were both invited inside. "Officer B became uncomfortable with being in the address, returning to the patrol vehicle parked outside, leaving Officer A and Ms Z inside the address for an extended period of time. While together inside the address Officer A and Ms Z engaged in consensual sexual activity," the authority said. "Officer B conducted additional queries of Ms Z within the police database due to concerns he held for the actions of Officer A with Ms Z." The authority said Officer A returned to Ms Z's address by himself twice while on duty in the subsequent weeks and both times engaged in sexual activity. Officer A also left police equipment at the address, shared digital images of police activity with Ms Z and made a large number of further queries about Ms Z in the police database. Police said the investigation started in December 2024, when they became aware of video footage circulating depicting two police staff on duty inside a private address. It said the video was taken around June 2024. "As a result, our investigation established Officer A engaged in consensual sexual activity with the woman at the time," said Superintendent Sunny Patel, Auckland City District Commander. "It was also established Officer A visited the woman's address on multiple occasions after the video was filmed," he said. "These visits occurred while he was on duty." Patel said during the investigation, both members' use of the police database and the sharing of police information was explored. "There was insufficient evidence to prove criminal offending occurred," he said. "However, regardless of this finding, there are high expectations set on our people while they are on duty." Patel said Officer A was the more experienced member of the pair, being Officer B's field training officer when they were both on the nightshift. "We are appalled at the poor conduct and decision making of Officer A throughout this matter." He said while Officer A had resigned from police during the investigation, an employment process was carried out in accordance with the Public Service Commission's guidelines. Officer B was also subject to a confidential employment process as a result. The authority said it was satisfied with the investigation police undertook and the outcome reached for both officers. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Herald
08-07-2025
- The Herald
Police investigate 'drunk' cop in viral video
The police have launched an investigation into a viral video of a police officer allegedly under the influence of alcohol while in uniform and on duty in the North West. The video shows a group of community members confronting the police officer and accusing him of being drunk. Provincial spokesperson Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said the police have seen the footage and view the allegations made seriously. 'The provincial commissioner who is on record saying that ill-discipline and intemperate behaviour by members shall not be tolerated views the video in a very serious light and has instructed the district commissioner to immediately investigate the allegations, which if true amounts not only to serious misconduct, but also a criminal offence,' Mokgwabone said. 'These allegations cannot and should not be taken lightly as they are damaging to the integrity and professional image of the SAPS, further contributing to the trust deficit between the police and the community. 'It is equally important to point out that this matter shall be investigated without fear, favour or prejudice.' Mokgwabone said preliminary investigations indicate that two members of the Patriotic Alliance and Operation Dudula, who came from Gauteng to support the group, could assist with the investigation. The police have called on the two individuals to contact the district commissioner or the provincial corporate communication and liaison to assist. 'The two possible witnesses are further advised that making and publicising information of such a serious nature without reporting it to the relevant authorities may result in them being charged for defeating or obstructing the course of justice.' TimesLIVE
BBC News
04-07-2025
- BBC News
West Yorkshire Police officer harassed woman who was with child
A West Yorkshire Police officer has been convicted of harassing a woman as she walked with her child in a pushchair. PC Raza Mahmood, 33, was found guilty of the offence after a trial at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Friday. Mahmood, who worked in the Calderdale district, had been accused of driving slowly alongside the woman as she walked along a street in Halifax on 26 March 2024. He will be sentenced on 7 August. Mahmood, who was off-duty at the time, shouted at the victim to come over to him, West Yorkshire Police was said to have driven off but then returned, following her in the car on at least four occasions, the force Ch Supt Tanya Wilkins, said: "It is clear from the victim's account, and that of her partner who she called in a distressed state, the concern that they both felt for her and their child's safety as a result of this officer's actions."Protecting women and girls from violence and the fear of violence is a priority for West Yorkshire Police and for a police officer to harass a member of the public in this way is very concerning and something that we take extremely seriously."Mahmood is currently suspended from duty and will face internal misconduct proceedings upon conclusion of the criminal case. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Telegraph
28-06-2025
- Telegraph
Teenager whose arrest led to officer's sacking was involved in drug crime
A teenage knifeman whose arrest led to the sacking of a decorated officer had previously been involved in drug crime, The Telegraph can disclose. Lorne Castle was dismissed for gross misconduct after tackling the masked 15-year-old suspect to the ground and holding him down while telling him to 'stop screaming like a b----'. It has now emerged that the teenager had previously been linked to drug dealing in the Bournemouth area and Mr Castle was aware of that before making the arrest. Mr Castle, who is waiting to hear if he can appeal against his dismissal, has previously said that following the ordeal he no longer feels safe living in the seaside town. Dorset Police said that the officer, who previously won a bravery award for saving an elderly woman from a freezing river, was sacked because his actions would undermine public confidence in the police. In written remarks the misconduct panel said that 'notwithstanding the absence of any evidence of actual harm', Pc Castle should have been aware of how his actions might be perceived. The arrest took place on Jan 27 2024 in Bournemouth. Mr Castle, 46, was at the end of a 10-hour shift when the call about a violent masked offender came in. The 15 year-old he detained was suspected of assaulting an elderly man while riding an e-scooter before getting embroiled in a fight with another youth outside a McDonald's restaurant. Earlier in the day, at the start of their shift, officers were warned that a large gang fight had taken place in the area and potential suspects were still at large. In body-worn video of the arrest, released by Dorset Police, Mr Castle is seen holding the teenager on the ground while telling him to 'stop screaming like a b----'. A knife is also captured in the footage falling from the youth's pocket. The boy was not injured in the incident and was later given an out of court disposal for possession of the blade. The individual that Mr Castle arrested was not the one who complained about his actions. Instead, it was two of his colleagues who assisted in the arrest. Neither had been on the street for more than six months. Four months before the incident, Mr Castle, who had an unblemished service record before being dismissed, plunged into a freezing river in the middle of the night to rescue a vulnerable elderly woman and was given a police bravery award for his actions. He has previously told The Telegraph that throughout the rescue he knew that if something went wrong and she died, he could be arrested for manslaughter as police officers should not technically enter the water in such a dangerous situation. Since his dismissal, Mr Castle said he had received hundreds of messages from serving and former police colleagues offering messages of support. A Go Fund Me page to support the former officer has raised almost £130,000 so far. Last week, while out shopping, Mr Castle conducted a citizens arrest on a shoplifter, who was in his 30s, who had fled a Nike store with stolen goods. The manager of the Nike store later praised Mr Castle, who it was said had been 'extremely pleasant and courteous' to the man he stopped.
CBC
27-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
B.C. police watchdog calls hearing into officers' 'racist, sexist' WhatsApp group
British Columbia's police complaint commissioner says he's called a public hearing to probe misconduct allegations against three current and three former Nelson, B.C., police officers over alleged racist, sexist and inappropriate comments made in a private WhatsApp chat group. Prabhu Rajan says the allegations "go to the heart of public trust in policing" and the public hearing will also delve into a constitutional challenge filed in court last year by five of the subject officers. A notice of public hearing from Rajan's office says the court case hasn't moved forward since it was filed in August 2024, and a retired judge appointed as an adjudicator will have the power under B.C.'s Police Act "to decide all necessary questions of fact and law ... including constitutional challenges." The notice says the alleged misconduct dates back to March 2019, when the officers were members of a group chat where they shared "racist, sexist, or other discriminatory or inappropriate content." It says a police discipline authority in February 2023 found that the officers "appeared to have committed discreditable conduct" by participating in the group chat, but Rajan says the case hasn't been resolved due to delays related to the legal challenge. The notice says no dates for the public hearing have been set, but it "will start on the earliest practicable date." "Important issues are at stake in this case," the notice says. "Indeed, increasing attention is being paid across Canada and elsewhere to whether police or other professionals commit misconduct if they post or engage with discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate content in chat groups they consider to be private."
