A senior anti-fraud police officer has been found guilty of breaching standards of professional behaviour and barred from working for the service again.
David Clark, a former Chief Superintendent at the City of London Police, was found guilty of gross misconduct during an inquiry over an allegation that he requested police resources for a personal matter.
There were five allegations made against Clark and a misconduct panel found all the charges amounted to gross misconduct.
The hearing, which followed an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation, found that David Clark forwarded emails from his work email account to his personal email account and subsequently forwarded those documents to a third party, in 2018.
It was also found proven by the panel that he obstructed an IOPC investigation by denying, when interviewed, that he had forwarded the documents and that he also disposed of his mobile phone knowing it contained evidence relevant to that investigation.
He was at one point the fifth highest paid officer in the force underneath Ian Dyson, then commissioner, Alistair Sutherland, assistant commissioner, and two commanders.
Chief Superintendent for Professionalism and Trust Portfolio, Sanjay Andersen, said: “The findings of the misconduct panel relate to serious allegations dating back to 2018, that Clark breached our standards of professional behaviour in Honesty and Integrity, Orders and Instructions, Confidentiality and Discreditable Conduct.”
“Trust and confidence in policing is essential. While this case dates back several years, we take every action necessary to maintain our professional standards and expect all officers and staff to serve with honesty and integrity.
“The behaviours and actions evidenced throughout this hearing will not be tolerated by the City of London Police, and Mr Clark will now be added to the police barred list, preventing him from ever working in policing again.”
IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said: “David Clark was a senior officer for City of London Police, acting as a commander and head of the economic crime unit, when he chose to take those actions and, in doing so, he not only breached police standards of professional behaviour but also the trust placed in him by the public.
“His explanation, that he had not sent documents to his personal email account and had not provided that documentation to a third party, simply did not stand up to scrutiny. And his claim that he had taken the opportunity to upgrade his mobile phone, and had not disposed of it knowing it contained evidence relevant to our investigation, was not accepted by the disciplinary panel.
“As a result, Mr Clark was found to have repeatedly breached the police standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, confidentiality and discreditable conduct. In those circumstances it is right that the panel decided he would have been dismissed without notice had he still been serving and he will now be placed on the police barred list, stopping him from taking up any further position in policing.”
The misconduct panel found Mr Clark guilty of gross misconduct and provided an outcome of dismissal had Mr Clark still been a serving officer. Mr Clark resigned from the force in 2019.
The outcome of the hearing means Mr Clark is added to the police barred list, which will prevent him from re-entering the police service or joining other policing bodies.
