A police officer showed bodycam footage of a dead body and pictures of a baby whose mother had been arrested to his partner, a misconduct hearing was told. PC 3689 Matthew Roberts, of North Wales Police shared the images with a PSCO who he was in a relationship with while he was off-duty.
PC Roberts had already resigned from the force by the time the hearing was held on April 3 at North Wales Police HQ in Colwyn Bay. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
The hearing - held under the provisions of the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 (‘the Regulations’) - heard allegations that the former officer “on a number of occasions” between January and November, 2022, showed his colleague and partner footage that had been taken from his Body Worn Video which was recorded in the course of his duties.
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That footage included the forced removal of a female from a property and of her spitting at Roberts, the discovery of a deceased man in a bedroom, the arrest of a drunk and abusive male at a bus stop, and the arrest of a young male complaining that Roberts had aggravated or caused him a broken wrist.
Also, the hearing was told that on a date in approximately October/November, 2022, Roberts had taken a baby to hospital, having arrested its mother. He sent pictures of the baby to his now ex-partner via WhatsApp, setting the images to be ‘viewed once’ and telling her not to tell anyone that he had sent them.
The officer accepted he “abused his position, thereby showing a lack of integrity in breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity”. He also accepted that his behaviour collectively amounted to gross misconduct. Want less ads? Download WalesOnline’s Premium app on Apple or Android
A panel at the hearing found that the former officer’s acts “had been deliberate and planned” and done “for his own personal advantage (albeit not financial)”. It also found that he had “persisted in his misconduct after he had (or should have) realised it was improper” and that there were “multiple victims, some of whom were vulnerable”.
In its outcome, the panel concluded that the former officer “would have been dismissed if he had not ceased to be a member of the police force” and that Roberts will be included on the Police Barred List.
