Officer abused position through affair - tribunal

A senior police officer who broke Covid rules to have sex with a junior colleague would have been sacked had he still been employed, a misconduct panel concluded.

Ch Supt Daniel Greenwood, a district commander in Bradford who had been in charge of West Yorkshire Police's response to the pandemic, previously admitted gross misconduct but denied an "absolute breach" of lockdown rules.

A misconduct panel said the officer had "abused his position of trust" by conducting the consensual affair with his younger and lower ranking colleague.

The conclusion of a tribunal found 41-year-old Mr Greenwood would have been dismissed without notice had he not already resigned.

Mr Greenwood admitted having sex with the woman twice during the extramarital encounters, with the senior officer helping with her application to join the police two years prior to their relationship.

Evidence submitted to the panel described how Mr Greenwood attended a flat in early 2021 and had sex with her, with the visit "in breach" of new Covid restrictions introduced on 6 January.

Mr Greenwood, through his representative, disputed the date of the encounter, claiming it had taken place before that set of rules had been introduced.

He also denied it was an "absolute breach" of Covid rules, but accepted it was "obviously contrary to the spirit" of them.

The West Yorkshire Police Authority panel concluded, however, that the woman had been "consistent" with her evidence that Mr Greenwood had made the visit after 6 January.

The hearing, held at the force's headquarters in Wakefield, found that the officer had, "on the balance of probabilities", broken the rules.

Written evidence put forward by the authority told how the pair first met in person in March 2020, with explicit messages, photos and video exchanged between them from July of that year.

Concluding the findings of fact against the officer, panel chair Craig Hassall KC said there had been "widespread public revulsion towards breaches of Covid regulations, especially from those in positions of responsibility."

He said that the woman was "vulnerable" for reasons including the age gap and her rank, therefore his actions were "an abuse of his position for a sexual purpose".

Had Mr Greenwood not resigned ahead of the hearing, he would have been dismissed to "maintain public confidence in West Yorkshire Police and policing generally", Mr Hassall concluded.

Speaking after the hearing, deputy chief constable Catherine Hankinson said Mr Greenwood had "behaved in a manner which brings discredit on the police service" and "undermines public trust".

She added: "The public deserves police officers who hold the highest standards, and his actions do not represent the overwhelming majority of honest and hardworking police officers and staff in West Yorkshire.

"I hope people feel reassured that all allegations of discreditable conduct will be robustly investigated, and such behaviour has no place in our service."

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