A former police officer who pretended to have a girlfriend who died of cancer to get days off work has been condemned for his “odious” behaviour.
Harry Sarkar misled colleagues and supervisors at West Midlands police, where he was a constable, with a “detailed tissue of lies” about a fake girlfriend who he claimed became sick with cancer and died, a hearing was told. He even lied about her funeral.
The student officer resigned in March and did not attend Thursday’s fast-track misconduct hearing. The force’s chief constable, David Thompson, said that if Sarkar had not left of his own accord, he would have been sacked without notice for gross misconduct.
The force said that between October 2020 and June 2021 Sarkar “maintained a detailed tissue of lies to colleagues and supervisors about a fake girlfriend, her fake illness, her fake death, and subsequent fake funeral”.
Opening the case against him, force professional standards said Sarkar’s bosses signed him off on sick leave and gave him multiple benefits, which PA Media reported included three days of bereavement leave and flexible working hours.
Thompson said the officer’s behaviour went against standards of integrity and honesty, which he said were “fundamental requirements for a police officer”.
The force was under strain at the time, during the second and third Covid lockdowns, when several officers tested positive.
“This case concerns a protracted period, with the officer creating a fictional relationship where the other party was suffering from cancer and died,” Thompson said. “This enabled supervisors to allow enhanced flexibility in his working. These ‘truths’ were repeated and developed over a sustained period of time.”
While Sarkar had not compromised an investigation or used his powers in bad faith, he said, the case “raises worrying character traits for the officer”.
Thompson added: “The public would not expect this from an officer and will be concerned over the obvious odious nature of such a misrepresentation. I also feel there are aggravating factors.
“This was a regular repeated behaviour over a substantial period of time. It was a significant abuse of trust with colleagues and supervisors. There’s no obvious mitigation or reason to excuse this behaviour.”
Sarkar has been added to a register of people banned from working as a police officer.
