Port of Tilbury-Police Constable

[Fedster + 1,307]

Officer told misconduct hearing he had resolved the issue.

 

Date - 3rd August 2018
By - JJ Hutber at the Empress State Building

3 Comments

 

A sergeant could face dismissal over allegations he used the police national computer to check if a broken down Mini had a registered keeper.

Sergeant Alan Weddell worked in the City before joining a Metropolitan Police fast-track scheme in 2013. After 13 months as a constable he was assigned to Brixton, south London, as a sergeant.

In January 2015 the manager of the estate where he lived, Bradley Gartan, approached him for help.

A yellow Mini had been parked in the estate’s car park for two years. It had become covered in a thick layer of dust and had four flat tyres.

Sgt Weddell admits that during his next shift, he logged onto the police national computer to check whether the vehicle was reported lost or stolen.

A Met Police misconduct hearing, held at the Empress State Building, heard that soon after this Mr Gartan confronted a locksmith working on the Mini.

He claims he was aghast when the worker showed him paperwork stating Sgt Weddell was the registered owner.

Mr Gartan and Sgt Weddell, 48, had a “heated conversation about the moral standard of Mr Weddell pertaining to this car,” it is claimed.

The estate manager said: “He came to my office trying to cover his own back [...] worried for his own career.

“It was very heated. I’ve got myself extremely wound up over it.”

He said he thought Sgt Weddell had offered him a “cash incentive to be quiet” when the officer asked him “what do you want from me Brad?”.

Mr Gartan denied a suggestion that he was angry about the situation because he had wanted to give the car to his wife.

He said he thought it was “very strange” officers kept coming back to ask for statements after he had filed his complaint about Sgt Weddell. He said the case has given him concerns for his “safety and personal wellbeing”.

Sgt Weddell spent 13 months on a training programme at Southwark and became a sergeant in December 2014.

The officer said Mr Gartan had approached him with concerns the broken car could be linked with criminality and even joked “there could be a body in there”.

“What he asked me at the time seemed straightforward enough. It was a PNC check to make sure there was nothing illegal with the car.

“It was in a very bad and broken down state.

“He mentioned it’d been there for two years, he would like to find the owner, [he] would ideally like it out of there.”

On January 7, Sgt Weddell carried out a VL22 number plate search and saw the car was not lost or stolen but noted the previous owners had lived nearby.

He did not carry out any further searches but did complete a V62 DVLA form in the following days and sent it off with a cheque for £25 to cover administration fees.

The form was dated January 7 but Sgt Weddell said this is because that was the last date he could be sure the vehicle was abandoned.

“It occurred to me I could put the car into my own bay and do some work on it. When [Mr Gartan] was showing me the car he was saying it wanted removing either way.

“He was asking to check for the criminality. For me this is ultimately the purpose of the PNC check.”

He claimed before submitting the form he ran into Mr Gartan, who instructed him to “get rid of the problem.”

“It’s an abandoned vehicle. He doesn’t have to worry about it anymore, it’s resolved the issue,” Sgt Weddell said.

Mr Gartan disputes the conversation ever took place.

Sgt Weddell has been placed on restricted duties.

The hearing continues.

View On police Oracle

 

 

[HazRat 762]

<Checks the date> He did what? Are people really that stupid?

There’s a saying about prisoners, property and prostitutes....

[HazRat 762]

Looks like he’s been kicked out. http://touch.policeoracle.com/news/article.cfm?id=98481

I despair at the stupidity of some people.

[Fedster + 1,307]

Westminster Bridge hero dismissed after claiming abandoned Mini

Fast tracked former City worker described by lawyer as 'naive in service'.

 

Date - 3rd August 2018
By - JJ Hutber at the Empress State Building

1 Comment

 

A sergeant who joined the Metropolitan police on a fast track scheme has been dismissed for taking advantage of his position to claim ownership of a “broken down wreck” of a Mini.

Metropolitan Police Sergeant Alan Weddell, based at Lambeth in south London, had a lucrative and successful career working in the City before joining the force in 2013. 

He took a pay cut to become a police officer as he “wanted to serve the people”.

During the Westminster Bridge terror attack last year he gave life-saving first aid to a victim, an action for which he was due to be commended.

But he had claimed ownership of an abandoned car two years earlier – an action which has now led to his dismissal from the police service.

In January 2015, Bradley Gartan, manager of the estate he lived on, asked Sgt Weddell if he could do anything about an abandoned yellow Mini car. The vehicle was covered in dust, had four flat tyres, and had not been moved from the apartment complex’s underground car park for two years.

During his next shift Sgt Weddell logged into the police national computer to check whether the car had been reported lost or stolen or had any links to criminality.

Sgt Weddell later had a “very heated” conversation with Mr Gartan after the estate manager saw a locksmith working on the car and showed him paperwork demonstrating the officer owned the car.

Today, misconduct hearing chairman Tapan Debnath announced the sergeant’s dismissal.

The panel said the use of the PNC to make inquiries was acceptable, however Sgt Weddell did not carry out all of the “responsible” checks to ascertain ownership of the car, an action which “could be seen as having abused his position of police officer”.

Gross misconduct was found proven against the 48-year-old officer as he “removed Mr Gartan from the loop and took advantage of an opportunity to claim ownership of the vehicle”.

He said: “No conversation took place before Mr Weddell sent the V62 [DVLA ownership] form.

“He did not give any indication to Mr Gartan it was his intention to claim ownership of the vehicle.

“We found that Police Sergeant Wardell formed an intention to claim ownership of the vehicle soon after completing the PNC check.

“We accept his actions were not in professional setting but in a private context, but the information was gleaned in a professional capacity.

“He had one year of active service when this incident occurred. He had enough experience to have understood how the public will perceive his actions.”

The officer’s lawyer Kevin Baumber had argued that although he had spent some time in the job “that is sometimes no substitute for experience […] he was naive in service albeit he received some training”.

The fast track scheme saw him become a sergeant after 13 months as a constable.

Mr Baumber said the damage done by the incident is outweighed by his “net contribution to the force and outstanding service”.

The “talented, hardworking, brave and heroic” officer had been in line for a borough commander’s commendation for his efforts during the Westminster Bridge terror attack last year giving life-saving first aid to a victim. This was prior to misconduct proceedings being launched against him, the lawyer said.

But Mr Debnath said in order to uphold public confidence in the police the only appropriate outcome was dismissal without notice.

https://www.policeoracle.com/news/terrorism_and_allied_matters/2018/Aug/03/westminster-bridge--hero--dismissed-after-claiming-abandoned-mini_98481.html

[Beaker 817]

Mental you'd put yourself in that position.

[a-bothan-spy 81]

13 months to become a sergeant?! What a joke!!

[Richhamdo + 872]

29 minutes ago, Beaker said:

Mental you'd put yourself in that position.

@Beaker  , Yes you are not wrong, people do the strangest things at times, it’s staggering . What I can’t understand or at least find it difficult to understand is why this particular car, what was the attraction to it that turned his mind to do such a thing. Four flat tyres, probably all sorts wrong with it after such a length of time not running. 

I recall the time when one of the bobbies in our force took a small amount of cash from the firearms cert tin in the front office one day. He intended to put it back later in the day, in the mean time the person in charge of it cashed up the money early, and even though she counted it several times couldn’t work out the discrepancy. I can’t recal how much he took now but I think it was just a few pound notes. (This money by the way was from firearm certificate renewals/ applications, etc). Any one of the regs/staff or specials would have lent him some money to  keep him going  if he had asked. Of course it ended badly for him, this was in the seventies sometime as you might have guessed but it just goes to show that even  forty years ago  people had mental aberrations that take some explaining. 

 @HazRat is spot on about property, seized/ handed in or otherwise  and cash in particular, no wonder they double bag it now, it’s dynamite.,My reg tutor told me that not long after I joined and I told plenty of our new specials that over the years when I got the chance to speak to them alone. . It only took thirty seconds whether they wanted to hear it or not. .Rich.

 

[Billy Blue Tac 170]

The was a case quite a few years ago where a petrol station company did a daily prize competion. IIFC they would display random VRMs in their forecourt and if it was yours you could claim a substantial cash prize. Some muppet cops used PNC to trace the RKs in the forlorn hope of getting a cut of the winnings. Didn't end well.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Billy Blue Tac

[Zulu 22 + 4,575]

3 hours ago, Beaker said:

Mental you'd put yourself in that position.

It is called greed, and guarantees a CRO number.

[MajorDisaster + 579]

Unfortunately length of service is no bar to stupidity:

 

http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/16397499.suspended-sentence-for-drunk-goodwick-cop-who-bit-mans-nose/?ref=mr&amp;lp=3