GMP officer sacked over off-duty nightclub conviction

‘It is unacceptable for police officers, who are responsible for enforcing the law, to break the law themselves’

A Greater Manchester Police officer with a criminal conviction has been sacked from the force.

Constable James Morrow, who it’s believed was based on the Rochdale division, was convicted at Leeds Crown Court of assault by beating in September last year, GMP said. He was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge.

A misconduct hearing was held at GMP headquarters this week, with the resulting ruling now published on the force’s website.

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Chief Resources Officer, Lee Rawlinson, said Morrow accepted he was in breach of ‘discreditable conduct’ and that in turn, it amounted to ‘gross misconduct’.

“PC Morrow’s actions and behaviour were entirely of his own choice,” said Mr Rawlinson in the ruling. “His conduct was intentional and deliberate.”

Mr Rawlinson said he acknowledged the incident – said to have happened in a Halifax nightclub while Morrow was off-duty – was ’emotionally charged due to the circumstances around the behaviour of his then girlfriend and his beliefs of the situation’.

No further details about it were published.

“PC Morrow’s conviction inevitably brings the profession of policing into disrepute and clearly has the potential to damage the trust that the public have a right to expect of their police service,” he added in the ruling. “His behaviour was contrary to the most clearly expressed instruction as to the standards required of a well conducted officer.

“PC Morrow’s offending behaviour was simply unacceptable. It is unacceptable for police officers, who are responsible for enforcing the law, to break the law themselves.

“Offences of violence are particularly serious and involve a fundamental breach of the public’s trust in police officers and inevitably bring the profession into disrepute. This includes offences committed both on and off-duty. There are no exceptional circumstances in this case that apply to divert from the presumption of dismissal. I therefore dismiss PC Morrow with immediate effect.

“His conduct has carried very grave consequences for him and has led to the termination of his career. It is fair to note that this misconduct stems from a single episode. There is no other evidence to suggest this type of conduct is usual for former PC Morrow. In many respects, whilst the behaviour cannot be excused, that such consequences have flowed from a single incident indicates the care that police officers must take to ensure that their professional behaviour is always of an impeccable character.”

His name will be added to the College of Policing’s ‘Barred List’, preventing him from working in policing again.