A Sussex Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) who formed inappropriate relationships with a man and a teenage boy has been dismissed without notice after gross misconduct was proven following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation.
The investigation began in February 2021 and established that between February and December 2020 the Sussex Police employee had formed an inappropriate relationship with a man, who he had met through the course of his community liaison duties at a café within his policing area. IOPC found evidence that the PCSO used derogatory and discriminatory language against various LGBTQ+ groups in messages that he had sent on WhatsApp to the man. It was also found that the PCSO agreed to obtain and sell Kamagra, an unauthorised medical product, to the man after he had asked the PCSO to obtain it on three separate occasions.
IOPC also found that between September 2020 and February 2021 the PCSO had inappropriate and sexual communication through Grindr with a 16-year-old boy. It was found that the Sussex Police employee knew the boy was vulnerable due to his age and previous contact with Sussex Police as a regular missing person. The Sussex Police employee sent the boy a number of sexually explicit messages including videos of him masturbating.
Mel Palmer, IOPC regional director, said: “Part of this PCSO’s job was to build trust and confidence in the police amongst LGBTQ+ people in Sussex. It is disgraceful that whilst in such a trusted role he sent sexually explicit material to a vulnerable teenager and bought unauthorised medication for another man. He also sent highly offensive derogatory messages to the man about parts of the LGBTQ+ community, conduct that was wholly unprofessional.
“I welcome the panel’s finding which sends a robust message that this type of behaviour has no place in policing.”
