A sacked police detective who allegedly knowingly lied when he gave evidence at Bristol Crown Court is appealing his dismissal from Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
Nicholas Eckland was told there was no place for him on the force after he was found guilty of two counts of gross misconduct and one of misconduct.
He had served with the regional organised crime unit and before his dismissal had an unblemished 25-year career, receiving a Crown Court commendation in 2016 for his team’s investigation into a crystal meth factory.
But at a misconduct hearing last December his integrity was called into question after he wrongly told a pre-trial court hearing he had personally attended the post mortem examination of a defendant in a drugs conspiracy he had been investigating.
His actions did not cause a miscarriage of justice but the trial had to be adjourned so his evidence could be corroborated.
Barrister Adam Rathmell said: “There is no role for an officer who has breached the standards of honesty and integrity.
“The appropriate authority doesn’t want this officer in the force. It’s not in the public interest.”
David Sapiecha, Mr Eckland’s barrister, said his client had been working 80-hour weeks and had been stressed, and argued that making an error was very different from being dishonest.
Panel chair Stephanie Beazley said: “DS Eckland was dishonest in public and failed to take the appropriate care.
“There’s little that we can envisage that would remediate this. The damage has already been done.
“It is necessary to dismiss DS Eckland without notice.”
Mr Eckland is taking his case to an appeal tribunal at the police HQ in Portishead on Friday (December 6).
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