Former officer who AirDropped explicit messages to passengers on train would have been dismissed

A three-day misconduct hearing, which concluded this week, found former PC Luke Stokes, previously attached to the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) MO6 public order planning, had breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity, duties and responsibilities, and authority, respect and courtesy.

The panel ruled he would have been dismissed without notice if he was still serving.

Stokes was arrested by officers from British Transport Police (BTP) on April 13, 2022, after a passenger reported the former officer had sent a sexually explicit note via AirDrop while on a C2C train four days earlier.

During his interview with detectives from BTP, it was found he had carried out a factory reset on his phone.

The incident was investigated by BTP and a file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in November 2022. The CPS determined that it did not meet the threshold to bring a prosecution and no further criminal action would be taken.

Chief Superintendent Joseph McDonald, of the MPS’s public order planning team, said: “It is quite clear that this former officer’s actions fell way below the standard rightly expected of a police officer.

“Not only did he send sexual messages to strangers, he tried to cover his tracks and then lie about it to fellow officers. There is no place in the Met for people who think such behaviour is acceptable.”

After learning of this incident, a female colleague reported that Stokes had sent an unwanted sexually explicit personal image to her in 2020.

A voluntary interview under caution was carried out in May, 2022. No further action was taken after it was determined the matter did not reach the evidentiary threshold for criminal charges to be brought.

Stokes resigned from the MPS last month and will now be added to the Barred List held by the College of Policing.