Former officer dismissed following accelerated misconduct hearing

PC Daniel Cox, who was off duty at the time, had grabbed and pushed a police officer who had been called to the Thorpe Park Hotel in Leeds following threats of violence to staff.

Cox, who was based in Manchester, had resigned from BTP prior to the misconduct hearing .

He had pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting an emergency worker on  May 17, 2024, at the Thorpe Park Hotel when he appeared at West Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on June 3.

West Yorkshire Police had been called to the hotel following threats of violence to staff by Cox, who was off duty at the time.

Officers attended and one officer intervened in a dispute. Cox pushed the officer into another person, grabbed and held the officer’s TAC vest, then pushed the officer a second time scratching their wrist and thumb.

At the accelerated misconduct hearing it was alleged that Cox’s behaviour on the May 17 amounted to a breach in the Standards of Professional Behaviour, namely ‘Authority, Respect and Courtesy’ and ‘Discreditable Conduct.’

Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, who chaired the hearing, found his actions amounted to gross misconduct and, had he not already resigned, he would been dismissed from the force with immediate effect.

Ms D’Orsi said: “It is completely wrong for those entrusted to uphold the law to assault anybody let alone another police officer. Police officers are responsible for upholding the law, not breaking it themselves. His actions were totally unacceptable and are unreflective of the high standards demonstrated daily by BTP officers and staff. There is no place for this former officer in BTP or wider policing.”