Dancing police laments lengthy disciplinary process

A police corporal with 17 years' experience is calling for an end to lengthy tribunal hearings and disciplinary proceedings after he was charged with discreditable conduct because of an incident at a breakfast fete in 2015.

Newsday spoke yesterday with the officer, who is assigned to the Western Division, and who said his life has become a living hell after photos of him in uniform dancing with a patron at the party were circulated on social media and in the mainstream media in 2015.

He said he was heavily chastised by senior officers and while he admits he was wrong, he feels he has been marginalised and made to suffer unnecessarily for the incident.

He said the charges of discreditable conduct were brought in 2017, two years after the incident, and he has been embarrassed by the situation.

"I just want to put this situation behind me right now. I've been going to tribunal hearings for the past year or so, and I can't seem to move on from this. Even my family life is affected by it, and my morale as an officer is affected.

"Despite the requests of officers to have this matter resolved in a more timely manner, it is still dragging on, more than a year after the charges were brought against me."

He said because of the ongoing proceedings he is no longer eligible to sit upcoming promotional exams for the rank of sergeant and feels his career has come to a standstill.

Newsday spoke to Insp Michael Seales of the Police Social and Social Welfare Association, who confirmed the matter is still ongoing but was unsure if the association was representing the corporal before the tribunal.