The sacking of a Bristol police officer who physically assaulted a member of the public and made a discriminatory remark about a colleague has been described as "highly concerning" by his former force. PC Jedd Perry, a student officer based in the city with Avon and Somerset Police, has been dismissed without notice and barred from the profession following a misconduct hearing.
Perry was found to have physically assaulted a member of the public at a bar in Bristol city centre on August 2021. He was off duty, out with friends, and drunk.
The member of the public did not want to make a formal complaint but the incident was referred to Professional Standards by a supervisor, and an investigation was subsequently carried out by CID. Evidence was gathered by CID officers and the Crown Prosecution Service, which concluded the threshold had not been met for a charge of affray.
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Following this process, the statutory time-limit of six months for summary only offences had passed, which meant a lesser alternative charge of battery could not be brought.
A hearing panel, led by an independent chair, heard evidence of the assault, and a separate incident whereby Perry told a colleague to 'go back to their own country' at a social event at his home after a night out will colleagues in August 2021. The colleague the comment was directed at later raised the incident with a manager.
The panel found that gross misconduct was proven in relation to the assault, while misconduct was proven in relation to the discriminatory remark. On Friday, January 20, Perry was dismissed without notice and will now be placed on a national barred list, preventing him from working in policing and other law enforcement agencies again.
Supt Jane Wigmore, head of professional standards at Avon and Somerset Police, said: "These are two incidents which happened when PC Perry was off-duty and at social events with colleagues. On both occasions he was intoxicated. Both incidents are highly concerning and indicate behaviours and attitudes which are absolutely not in keeping with the high standards expected of an officer who’s pledged to serve and protect the public.
"We’d like to thank the officers who reported incidents either to line managers or to Professional Standards. It’s imperative that officers and staff flag any incidents of concern they see or hear about, and we have confidential reporting systems in place to allow them to do just this."
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