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Fourth disciplinary hearing in a year ends with reinstatement reversed.

 

Date - 3rd July 2019
By - Nick Hudson - Police Oracle

 

An officer cleared by a crown court of shoplifting Giorgio Armani aftershave has been sacked for a second time by his force – three months after winning his job back on appeal.

PC Mohammed Lachiri has been dismissed without notice from North Wales Police after a three-day disciplinary hearing at the force’s Colwyn Bay headquarters.

The panel’s gross misconduct ruling on the grounds of honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct was the fourth hearing the officer has faced in a 12-month period.

It ended a topsy-turvy chain of events which began when the officer was confronted by security staff at Debenhams in Llandudno in December 2016 – having walked out of the store without purchasing a £72 bottle of Giorgio Armani aftershave in his possession.

On being questioned he gave a false date of birth and address and denied he was a police officer. Debenhams issued PC Lachiri with an exclusion order.

At his trial at Caernarfon Crown Court in July 2017, where he was found not guilty of theft, he claimed absent-mindedness and stress had contributed to leaving the store without paying.

It was exactly a year ago that the former college lecturer, who as a prominent member of the Muslim community in North Wales, serving as an imam, faced his first misconduct hearing.

Before being adjourned after two days with proceedings “not completed”, it was told that the PC had “left Debenhams with a bottle of aftershave that he knew had not been paid for”.

The hearing was reconvened in September last year with PC Lachiri being booted out of the service after breaching honesty, integrity and discreditable conduct allegations.

He appealed and on March 13 this year, following a third hearing, he was reinstated.

Last week a fresh misconduct hearing again led to the constable being sacked for a second time.

A short statement from the force read: "The case was found proven and to be gross misconduct. PC Lachiri was dismissed without notice.”

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[MindTheGap 1,275]

I'm confused, was any new evidence offered in the final hearing? If the PAT upheld the appeal and reinstated the officer, that should - in my mind - be the end of it. If new evidence came to light to change the outcome then fair enough but I'm struggling to see what more the force could have gotten.

Not defending him if he did it but a court found him not guilty, the force implying that he did steal on their own process and dismissing him using an independent panel, the PAT have then said that it's not warranting dismissal (and reinstated him, with back-pay for time out of the force usually). The force has then held another hearing and dismissed him. It sounds almost like a witchhunt.

 

[IrateShrike + 1,846]

He appears to be of dishonest character and therefore certainly not the sort of person I would not want to work with.

But the whole debacle just seems to be a case of repeatedly asking the same question until the desired answer is given regardless of its merit.

Edited July 6, 2019 by IrateShrike

[Zulu 22 + 4,552]

The report says "Last week a fresh misconduct hearing again led to the constable being sacked for a second time".  It does not say that it was over the same circumstances but it does say  "The panel’s gross misconduct ruling on the grounds of honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct was the fourth hearing the officer has faced in a 12-month period".   To me that seems to imply that it was likely to be a new complaint from a new set of circumstances. The officer could even have said something in his appeal that turned out to be untrue with irrefutable truth of that fact.

Unless we were privy to the whole hearing we would never know, for sure.