An MP has criticised the under-fire Gwent Police force for refusing to release footage of an off-duty officer hitting a member of the public in a bar. PC Simon Rohman was sacked last Friday after striking a man at Brewhouse in Cardiff city centre.
Chief constable Pam Kelly said she had "very carefully viewed" footage from CCTV and arresting officers' body-cameras before deciding that Rohman should be dismissed – but the force has said it will not be releasing the video. The decision was described as "troubling" by Newport West MP Ruth Jones.
The Labour MP told WalesOnline: "It was reassuring to hear over the weekend that as a result of an expedited process from Gwent Police that an officer has been expelled from the force for assaulting a member of the public. From reporting it is clear that the behaviour fell well below the standards we expect of members of our police force. What is troubling, however, is that the CCTV and bodycam footage of the incident – which were integral to the decision being made – were not made available during the hearing or afterwards. Nobody wants a media circus, but Gwent Police need to recognise that transparency is more important than ever while they seek to build back trust with the public."
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Questions had already been raised over the force's transparency after it refused to answer significant questions about the case of three high-ranking officers who committed gross misconduct. The public and media were excluded from a hearing which found that former chief superintendent Mark Warrender's misconduct involved "inappropriate touching". The panel also found that Warrander, chief superintendent Marc Budden, and chief inspector Paul Staniforth had held an "inappropriate conversation" with a more junior colleague.
Budden and Staniforth were dismissed while Warrender would have seen the same fate but retired days before the outcome. The public has been denied the right to know specifics of the case such as how Budden lied about his conduct. In the case of Budden and Warrender both officers were suspended on full pay from the summer of 2019 and went on to receive an estimated combined gross total of at least £500,000. It is unknown whether Staniforth had been suspended before the conclusion of the hearing.
The force is also under severe scrutiny over texts between officers which were published by the Sunday Times and sparked allegations of a racist, misogynistic and homophobic culture. Three officers have been suspended in connection with the messages.
Detective superintendent Sam Payne, head of professional standards at Gwent Police, said: “The misconduct hearing for PC Rohman was advertised on the website and was open to members of the public as well as the media to apply to attend. The full details of the allegations and the outcome were publicised through a press release to media and on our website. The summary of the hearing will also be available online within five working days in line with national guidance. As a public hearing, in which media were in attendance, the full details of the officer’s off-duty actions were disclosed and he was dismissed. It is therefore disappointing to hear that this is not seen as a transparent process.”
A spokesman for the force said PC Rohman was alleged to have been involved in a "physical and verbal altercation" with two members of the public on September 30 last year while off-duty at Brewhouse in St Mary Street, Cardiff. The spokesman added: "During the altercation CCTV footage showed PC Rohman hit a member of the public. His actions resulted in him being restrained by door staff in public view and arrested for being drunk and disorderly."
An investigation from the force found PC Rohman had breached the professional standards of behaviour regarding ‘authority, respect, and courtesy’, ‘discreditable conduct’, and ‘use of force’. Chief constable Kelly rejected his claim that the incident was "two minutes of madness" and sacked him for gross misconduct.
"Our communities deserve the highest of standards from officers," she said. "This off-duty behaviour falls way below that standard. PC Rohman had every opportunity to walk away from a situation that was volatile and this was much more than ‘two minutes of madness’. It was totally inappropriate behaviour and a standard I’m not prepared to accept at Gwent Police."
Another controversy for the force came last month when PC Robert Davies was dismissed after sending hundreds of "overfamiliar and excessive" texts to three woman he met during the course of his duties. Two of the women were vulnerable. Among the messages were: "I was thinking of you being naughty with me" and: "Gorgeous in every way". You can read more of the latest news about Gwent Police here.
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