Simon Gurney has successfully represented Police Constable Paul Birch in Merseyside’s first public Misconduct Hearing.
Until a recent change in the law police Misconduct Hearings were held in private, with the public and press unable to attend the hearings, however, hearings are now to be held in public. This was the first hearing on Merseyside to which members of the public and the press were invited.
The hearing attracted considerable media attention and was reported widely in the national press. The hearing was the subject of ‘live tweets’ by a number of journalists who attended.
The Officer faced allegations that, with three other officers, he deliberately refused to assist a member of the public struggling with a shoplifter he had detained on Dale Street, Liverpool. Following a 3 day hearing, PC Birch was cleared of gross misconduct. The Panel rejected the suggestion that he had seen the struggle or was aware of the request for assistance. The Panel found that the Officer’s actions amounted only to misconduct, at the lower end of the scale, and directed that the Officer receive Management Advice, the lower recordable misconduct outcome.
Simon Gurney was instructed by Alan Greenidge of Slater & Gordon Lawyers (retained by the Police Federation of England and Wales).
See below for reports of the case:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-34340739
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/merseyside-pc-sacked-gross-misconduct-10115455
Simon specialises in representing professionals facing disciplinary proceedings brought by their employer or regulator. Any professional who requires advice or representation should contact David Wright in Chambers.