Officer dismissed for inappropriate behaviour towards colleague

Sergeant David Morton, who was attached to MPS Detention as a custody officer, was alleged to have made “unwanted advances towards a member of police staff whom he was supervising” between January and October 2019.

In doing so, the MPS said he failed to “treat them with respect and courtesy”.

It was alleged that he treated the member of staff differently because they were female.

The five-day misconduct hearing, which concluded on Friday (October 7), found Sgt Morton had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour of authority, respect and courtesy, integrity and equality and diversity

Detective Superintendent Matt Pilch, who leads MPS Detention, said: “We will not tolerate behaviour that fails to meet the standards we expect of our officers.

“Anyone working for the Met deserves to be able to do so in an environment where they are respected, treated with dignity and not subjected to unacceptable behaviour by their colleagues or those who are supposed to be supervising them.

“When this behaviour came to light we intervened and took action to address it. I hope today’s decision sends a clear message to our staff and the public about the consequences of such actions.”

“We are committed to driving forward ambitious reforms across the Met.

“There is no place for people who do not support those objectives and let down not just their hard working colleagues but also the public.”

The MPS said Sgt Morton will now be added to the College of Policing ‘Barred List’.