A police officer has been dismissed after posting images of himself of a "sexualised nature" on social media.
He was sacked without notice following a directed Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) probe.
Following a referral from the force in Northumbria, the investigation was carried out by their dedicated counter corruption unit, under the IOPC's direction, as reported by Chronicle Live.
The unit discovered several snaps had been shared on public Twitter and Instagram profiles. They appeared to show the officer engaged in sexual poses.
Several explicit comments on the photographs were also found to have come from a profile attributed to the officer, who has not been named.
The investigation found the officer may have breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of his conduct, by allowing the photos to be taken and posted as well as confidentiality and orders and instructions, with regard to his inappropriate use of social media.
The force agreed he had a case to answer for gross misconduct and arranged disciplinary proceedings, which were chaired by the Chief Constable Winton Keenen and held in private to protect the identity of a vulnerable witness.
At the accelerated misconduct hearing on December 16, the case against the officer was found to be proven and he was dismissed without notice.
IOPC Director of Major Investigations Steve Noonan said: “This use of social media was entirely inappropriate and risked seriously undermining public confidence in the police.
“When he became aware these images had been posted, rather than asking for them to be removed, he encouraged them by posting comments from his own social media account that were completely unacceptable for a police officer.
“Thanks to our directed investigation, and the work of Northumbria Police’s counter corruption unit, he has now been dismissed and will be barred from working in policing in future.”
Detective Chief Inspector Donna Rose, from Northumbria Police’s Professional Standards Department, said: “We want to make it clear that the actions of this individual were completely unacceptable.
“In no way are they representative of the officers, staff and volunteers who every single day display they highest levels of professionalism and commitment to the communities we are proud to be a part of and to serve.
“We expect these standards to be maintained at all times and if anyone is found to have fallen below them we are committed to taking appropriate action.”
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