A Metropolitan police officer has been sacked after unzipping a woman’s dress at a Christmas work party for a “prank”.
PC Finley Sky left the woman “physically exposed” during the incident, at a party attended by his police colleagues and members of the public.
A misconduct hearing was told PC Sky made more than one attempt to unzip the woman’s dress, in what he described as a “joke” and a “prank” while he was drunk in the early hours of the morning, on December 12 last year.
The constable claimed he had not pulled the zip down further than the lower back, and insisted he had only undone the dress by an inch.
But CCTV footage showed the zip was pulled down “far more than one inch”, almost opening “fully”, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor ruled.
“I am satisfied that PC Sky acted inappropriately by approaching the complainant from behind and unzipping her dress causing her distress and embarrassment and leaving her physically exposed”, he said.
“His was a significant motion of far more than one inch. The dress in fact does open almost fully, which can also been seen on the CCTV. I therefore reject the proposition that they only undid the zip by one inch.”
The misconduct hearing was told PC Sky expressed remorse for his actions in the immediate aftermath of the incident, as well as while facing disciplinary proceedings.
Assistant Commissioner Taylor found Sky guilty of gross misconduct, and said he did not “consider that any sanction less than dismissal without notice” would be “justified”.
“It is entirely unacceptable for police officers to engage in such inappropriate behaviour. Doing so undermines public trust and confidence in policing, as well as the reputation of the Metropolitan Police Service.
“The public could not have confidence in PC Sky to protect them or others
“A lesser outcome would not serve to mark the seriousness of the misconduct or deter others from similar misconduct and fulfil the purpose of the police misconduct regime.”
After dismissal, Sky’s name has been placed on the College of Policing’s barred list. The decision was made in April, with the publication of the ruling coming this week.
