A Gwent Police officer sexually assaulted a fellow officer while on a night out in Cardiff. A misconduct hearing on Monday, March 27, found that PC Jack Bannister inappropriately touched a female officer on December 12, 2021.
The incident which happened while former PC Bannister was off duty was also witnessed by other officers. He did not appear at the hearing, which was held at the former Gwent Police headquarters in Croesyceiliog. But the panel found his actions amounted to gross misconduct and said he would have been sacked if he had not quit the force before the hearing.
It was found that PC Bannister inappropriately touched the buttocks of a female police officer, whose identity has been anonymised as 'Police Officer A'. A short time later he squeezed Police Officer A’s buttocks for a second time and made inappropriate comments to Police Officer A.
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Police Officer A told former PC Bannister that he should not behave in such a way as he was a police officer. Former PC Bannister’s actions were witnessed by other off duty police officers who were present. Police Officer A asked former PC Bannister to leave, which he did.
On the following day, former PC Bannister sent a message to Police Officer A apologising for his behaviour. Former PC Bannister also sent the same message to the other officers who also had been present. The incident left Officer A “shocked” and “embarrassed” the hearing was told.
When interviewed about the matter by the officers from Gwent Police Professional Standards Department, former PC Bannister admitted the allegations against him. He said his behaviour left him feeling horrified and embarrassed because it was out of character.
The former officer resigned from his position in September 2022. He had only joined Gwent Police 18 months earlier in January 2021.
Chief Constable Pam Kelly, who chaired the panel, said she found former PC Bannister’s actions amounted to gross misconduct, and that he would have been dismissed if he had still been a serving officer. The hearing, found former PC Bannister breached standards of professional behaviour on two occasions, namely standard two – authority, respect and courtesy – and standard nine – discreditable conduct.
Chief Constable Pam Kelly said: “The allegations against former officer Jack Bannister were found proven following incontrovertible evidence against him. Our communities deserve the very best from those serving them and they deserve the highest of standards.
“This former officer’s behaviour fell far below what I expect from all our officers, and I’m grateful to the people within our organisation who raised this and brought this conduct to our attention. It was important that the hearing went ahead in his absence.
“We will continue to send a clear message to colleagues and the public that this behaviour has no place on our service, and we will pursue and remove those who damage confidence in Gwent Police.
“His name will now be placed on the list of barred officers preventing him from working as an officer in future.”
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