The latest Welsh police officers kicked out in disgrace

The latest Welsh police officers kicked out in disgrace
We have obtained details of most police misconduct cases from the last two years
Former PCs John Stringer, left, and Jamie Davies
(Image: WalesOnline )
Perverts and violent abusers are among the latest Welsh police officers kicked off the force. Through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all of the four police forces in Wales, we have obtained details of most police misconduct cases from the last two years.
The list includes a PC caught working other jobs while signed off sick, a sergeant who remained in post despite a criminal conviction for smashing a child's phone in rage, and a paedophile jailed for a decade.
We made the FOI requests to find out how many officers' names were protected by anonymity orders — an issue which has recently led to us successfully challenging an order not to name a disgraced former Dyfed-Powys Police officer and reporting on a troubling restriction from South Wales Police on naming a corrupt ex-officer.
In their FOI responses both Dyfed-Powys Police and South Wales Police initially withheld all names, citing a need to protect personal data. We appealed — and at one point reported South Wales Police to a data watchdog because it was not responding — then both forces overturned their decisions, although some names continue to be withheld.
The Gwent Police officers
While off-duty, PC Joseph Cook punched a man he had spotted leaving a Cardiff nightclub with his former partner. Cook had been drinking on a night out when he saw the pair exit a St Mary Street club and walk past him. He pushed the man to the ground and punched him, causing cuts and bruises, before other police officers intervened. The chef constable found Cook would have been sacked had he not resigned.
PC Benjamin French sexually assaulted a colleague while off-duty at a party, lifting her skirt and grabbing her bottom. He later claimed he could not "really remember" it but accepted the victim's account. The chief constable concluded he would have been fired had he not quit.
Article continues below
Nathan Collings
(Image: Gwent Polie )
PC Nathan Collings isolated his partners from their families and friends and monitored their social media. He used a tracking app to monitor the movements of one partner and used a "pet cam" to spy on her at home. After the relationship ended he stalked her by going into her house when she was out, and watching the property from a van. He was not only barred from policing but jailed for two and a half years after admitting stalking, controlling and coercive behaviour, and threatening to disclose private sexual photos.
PC Jack Bannister sexually assaulted a fellow officer while on a night out in Cardiff. Twice he inappropriately touched the woman's buttocks as well as making inappropriate comments. The chief constable found Bannister's actions amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have been sacked had he not quit already.
Huw Orphan, 32, was a constable with Gwent Police when he assaulted his wife and caused her to suffer a fractured spine.
(Image: Gwent Police )
PC Huw Orphan broke his wife's back by kicking her down a flight of stairs during an argument. A Cardiff Crown Court jury found him guilty of grievous bodily harm against his police officer wife Amy Burley, who was left with frequent pain and mobility issues. He was jailed for two and a half years and the assistant chief constable barred him from policing.
Wannabe firearms officer PC Avron Roulstone used vile homophobic language about a colleague, calling her "that f***ing d**e" and then asking other officers: "Are you going to report me?" The misconduct panel heard he "devised a campaign" against the more junior colleague – a gay woman – and even "fist-bumped" a member of the public who had hurled homophobic abuse at her. He would have been sacked had he not quit.
DC Mark Peploe inappropriately touched a colleague on a Christmas night out. The chief constable described his behaviour as "totally unacceptable" and said he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he not already resigned.
PC Paolo Goharjouy committed gross conduct by contacting sex workers to obtain their services. He sent 57 texts and had 629 contacts in his phone who were known or strongly suspected to be sex workers. The assistant chief constable said he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.
PC John Stringer outside Cardiff Crown Court
(Image: Ben Birchall/PA Wire )
PC John Stringer was sacked by the assistant chief constable after he was found guilty by a Cardiff Crown Court jury of two counts of sexual assault by touching, two of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one of causing a child to watch a sexual act. The abuse came to light after the victim confided in a teaching assistant at school. Stringer was jailed for 10 years.
PC Gediminas Palubinskas committed gross misconduct by failing to submit a business interest while suspended from duty for unrelated matters. He also "submitted evidential material purporting to be another person whilst suspended from duty". The chief constable said he would have been sacked had he not quit.
Another Gwent Police officer was kept anonymous in their hearing. The force said the officer — who was barred from policing for interfering with an investigation and inappropriate sexualised communications with a colleague — was granted anonymity by the chief constable on "medical grounds" and "health concerns of the former officer".
Six other Gwent Police officers kicked out for misconduct were named when their hearings took place but the force refused to tell us their names in its Freedom of Information response because more than three months had passed since their cases and the force had concerns about triggering "painful memories" for victims. These cases included cocaine use, domestic violence and excessive force against a detainee.
The Dyfed-Powys Police officers
Llanelli-based Inspector Justin Ellerton sent messages to a known sex worker for four weeks, then collected her from her home and took her to "a location in the Morriston area, where she was led to believe she was to be paid for her sexual services." Instead he "abandoned the female in the locality" before making off. He resigned — and would have been sacked had he not — but the misconduct panel imposed an order to prevent the media naming him. WalesOnline successfully fought the order, which you can read more about here.
PC Christopher Sanders was caught working other jobs while signed off sick from the force. He earned £450 from a care home where he fitted a floor and did odd jobs. He also made £770 tiling and painting for other clients during his months on sick leave. Last December the chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not quit.
‌
PC Martyn Stephens behaved in an "inappropriate manner" towards two colleagues on the evening of April 30 last year. In January a misconduct panel found he would have been sacked had he not resigned already.
Carmarthenshire PC Christian Stobbs quit the force while under investigation for computer misuse offences, which he admitted when he accepted a caution. He had used police systems, including "mapping technology", to monitor a person with no policing justification. The chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not resigned.
PC Gareth Horton exchanged homophobic, transphobic, racist and sexist messages with another officer. He claimed he was "trying to fit in" when he sent the WhatsApp messages to an officer from Merseyside Police, where Horton was serving at the time. He replied to "inappropriate" messages with "crying laughing" emojis and sent messages which had "homophobic and violent overtones", according to a misconduct panel who dismissed him in March.
‌
Ceredigion PC Simon Williams admitted sexually touching a woman in an Aberaeron pub without her consent while he was off-duty. He received a conditional caution and sent a letter of apology to the victim. The chief constable found he would have been sacked had he not already retired.
Supt Gary Davies committed gross misconduct by touching female staff members without permission and comparing women to sports cars. The 58-year-old from Bridgend, who was nicknamed "the octopus", excluded female staff from meetings and had an "obvious corrosive effect" on colleagues, according to a misconduct panel who ordered he be dismissed.
One Dyfed-Powys officer, PC Nicholas Jenkins, was given a final written warning for gross misconduct but we do not know the details of his behaviour because the force refused to provide us with the notice that was served against him, citing the need to protect "third-party personal data". Another officer, PC Lawrence Rew, was found not to have committed misconduct.
‌
Two Dyfed-Powys officers' names were withheld because of anonymity orders imposed by their misconduct panels. Both were found to have committed gross misconduct, but one was let off with a final written warning while the other was barred from policing. The force told us anonymity was granted because of "safety concerns in respect of the officer" in one case and "restrictions imposed by a separate court process" in the other case.
The South Wales Police officers
PC Jamie Davies outside Cardiff Crown Court
(Image: John Myers )
PC Jamie Davies started a relationship with a woman he had met on dating app Hinge and quickly embarked on a campaign of jealous and controlling behaviour which made her life hell. After pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour he was handed a suspended prison sentence, 150 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation and a 10-year restraining order. The chief constable dismissed him from the force.
‌
PC Katie White failed to report her boyfriend's law-breaking until they broke up. She was in a relationship with a man from late 2022 until September 2023, then within days of the breakup she called police. She claimed her ex had been driving without insurance since January that year and had been driving under the influence of cannabis while his children were in the vehicle. The assistant chief constable said White ignored her duty to report criminal activity earlier, and added she would have been fired had she not quit.
Former South Wales Police Constable Darren Whatley, pictured here in 2012
A misconduct panel found PC Darren Whatley acted in a "predatory" manner and caused "emotional harm" to three colleagues. He exposed his genitals to one woman, asked another to have sex with him in his car and told a third he would "gas" her. He would have been dismissed had he not retired.
‌
Off-duty Special Constable Joshua Edwards breached standards of professional behaviour involving authority, respect and courtesy with his behaviour towards an ex-partner. He would have been dismissed by the misconduct panel had he not quit.
PC Spencer Crane was off duty and socialising in Cardiff's Caroline Street and the Hayes when he got into a scuffle with DC Jack Harris and an unnamed female colleague. The misconduct panel heard he grabbed the female PC "to the neck", causing her to fall to the ground, as well as "lunging" at DC Harris and fighting him on the floor. The panel found Crane was the aggressor and that he would have been sacked had he not quit.
Sergeant Matthew O'Sullivan, from Merthyr Tydfil, was found guilty of damaging another person's phone at Tesco Express in Pontypridd
(Image: Conor Gogarty )
‌
Sergeant Matthew O'Sullivan was found guilty at Newport Magistrates' Court of criminal damage but he was allowed to keep his policing job. The offence involved him smashing the mobile of a 15-year-old boy who had made hoax 999 calls with friends. The chief constable spared O'Sullivan dismissal and instead imposed a five-year final written warning. He took into account that the sergeant was "frustrated at the massive waste of police resource", and was sorry for acting "foolishly in the heat of the moment".
Off-duty PC Salman Malik was driving a Tesla from Cardiff to Leicester when he was stopped by two Leicestershire Police officers. He told them the car was his sister's but that he had temporary insurance to drive it, which was false. Malik was sacked by the chief constable after being sentenced at Loughborough Magistrates' Court to a £430 fine and six penalty points for driving without insurance.
Sergeant Rhodri Davies, a former boxer, was sacked by a misconduct panel after punching a man detained in a cell at Swansea Central police station. The victim, Tariq Evans, was handcuffed when he was swung to the floor and then struck by Mr Davies, who also used a "dangerous" restraint on his neck, according to the panel, who described his actions as "deplorable".
‌
Three South Wales Police officers who faced misconduct proceedings have been kept anonymous. One, known as Officer F, was recently barred from policing after he admitted the criminal offence of illegally accessing computer material. The corrupt officer repeatedly accessed the force system and leaked information to five members of the public.
This is a serious offence, punishable with up to two years in prison, but Officer F was let off with a caution. The force didn't respond when asked why he wasn't charged. We know his name and his rank, but the force's chief constable Jeremy Vaughan continues to block us from telling you because of concerns for "the health and wellbeing of a child". You can read our piece on why this flies in the face of legal precedent and principles of transparency here.
The other two officers were anonymised because of concerns for their safety. One was a PC sacked for gross misconduct. In the case of the second officer, a sergeant, misconduct was not proved.
‌
The North Wales Police officers
PC Matthew Roberts showed bodycam footage of a dead man to his colleague PCSO Manon Roberts (who was also his girlfriend) while off duty. A misconduct panel heard he also showed her videos of himself arresting people and found parts of the footage "amusing". Roberts even sent PCSO Roberts pictures of the baby of a woman he had arrested. The panel concluded he would have been sacked had he not quit.
PCs Terrence Flanagan and Kenneth Iwan Williams attended a domestic incident and made 'cruel, shocking and offensive comments' about a victim of domestic abuse. Their "misogynistic" and "sexualised" comments about the woman — and also about police colleagues — were caught because PC Flanagan had left his bodycam on. The chief constable found they both would have been fired had they not resigned.
Former North Wales PC Owain Lewis
(Image: North Wales Police )
‌
PC Owain Lewis threw a tray of food at his ex-girlfriend (a fellow PC) after finding her in "a state of undress" with one of their colleagues. He also smashed his ex's phone and got into a fight with the male colleague. A misconduct panel heard PC Lewis and the woman had split up after an eight-year relationship but they still shared a home in Buckley, Flintshire, where the scuffle broke out in a spare bedroom. The panel ordered PC Lewis be dismissed for gross misconduct.
In the cases of two other North Wales Police officers, PC Daniel Jones and PC Vincent Jones, misconduct allegations were found not proved.
'A mystery without any rationale'
Former police and crime commissioner for North Wales, Arfon Jones, spoke to us last month about the importance of transparency after becoming concerned by the anonymity orders protecting Officer F and, initially, Justin Ellerton. "Why legally qualified chairs of misconduct panels and senior police officers grant anonymity to accused officers is often a mystery without any rationale, and it seems increasingly to be the norm rather than an exception," said Mr Jones, who had a long career as a police officer.
‌
"It is particularly worrying that accused officers are avoiding criminal charges in an open court and instead quietly being sacked and remaining anonymous," he added. "It is in the public interest that officers who have committed serious criminal offences are tried in an open court the same as any other citizen. Anything else will be perceived to be a cover-up."
Gwent Police asked us to include a statement from its deputy chief constable Nicola Brain on the force's pledge to dismiss officers who "betray the trust and confidence of our communities".
She said: "Our starting position is to hold all proceedings in public session, allowing us to be open and transparent with regards to the police misconduct process. But there are occasions when expert advice dictates, whether from medical professionals or ongoing criminal investigations, that some details will be heard in private session or with reporting restrictions.
Article continues below
"It is important that we also consider the impact of a public hearing on those who bravely speak out about misconduct before a determination is made."
If you would like to tell us about an issue that should be investigated, you can contact our investigations editor at conor.gogarty@walesonline.co.uk

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Wales Online

8 hours ago

• Wales Online

'I didn't sleep. It was constant. I could turn the notifications off, but they were still there'

'I didn't sleep. It was constant. I could turn the notifications off, but they were still there' Welsh MP Alex Davies-Jones has spoken out about being harassed and threatened in a bid to help others Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones was the victim of harassment (Image: Alex Davies-Jones ) Just over two weeks ago, Alex Davies-Jones stepped into a courtroom at Cardiff Magistrates' court. An MP, and government minister, she is used to speaking in formal settings, but this was different, because she was asked to place her hand on a bible, give an oath, and then give evidence to a courtroom as a victim of harassment. Switching the Commons for a witness box was something the UK Government's victim minister didn't want to do, but after a number of incidents she had endured, she felt it was important to do, for herself, for colleagues, for others who one day might enter politics. ‌ She was out campaigning in Treforest in Rhondda Cynon Taf, on June 26, just a few days before the general election when she saw two people waiting at the place she was due to meet campaigners. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here ‌ Before that day - as with many of her colleagues - her office had been targeted with protests held outside, posters stuck to the walls but she also knew leaflets were being posted around the constituency about her. "They were quite insulting and just not very nice, for want of a better description, accusing me of genocide and accusing me of things that weren't true and it was hard to see that," the Labour MP said. After the October 7 attacks on Israel, protests stepped up, and ahead of votes in the UK Parliament there was co-ordinated action by campaign groups but she says that became "sustained" once the general election was called. Article continues below Before this, there has been online or email abuse, but this was the first in-person incident she had experienced, which felt more acute as it was in her constituency. "The vast majority of abuse or threats you have to are not necessarily from real people or they don't seem to be real people because they're online," she said. "The day it happened we had scheduled our campaigning sessions in advance and this was the last one of the day, and it had been published on the Labour Party website where we were going to be for Labour members to join. "I was with a group of about five or six members and more were joining. We met up at the meeting point and they were there, both of them, at the meeting point. They had put up posters on the lampposts surrounding where we were meeting at Hoffi Coffi in Treforest and were handing out the leaflets that I had seen previously about myself so I knew what it was. ‌ "I thought there's two things I can do here, I can either try and engage and try and be the grown up and speak to them about potentially de-escalating it and get them to chat to me about this because they tend to be very passionate, or I can just walk away and ignore them. "I made the decision to to go up to them and try and speak to them." Asked if she regretted that now, she said no. "No, I don't, because I still think that trying to engage with people is always better, especially in person. ‌ "I immediately realised that one of them was filming the interaction so I was obviously very careful of my actions and what I was saying and was aware that it was being filmed. I tried to engage in a conversation, I tried to explain to them that they were wrong, that I hadn't abstained on the ceasefire vote because I wasn't even in the country at that time. "I tried to articulate all of the action I had taken to support conflict free resolutions in the Middle East, the work I'd done to support Palestinian women who had allegedly been raped by IDF soldiers, the work I've been doing support Jewish women who'd been raped on October 7. I pointed them to debates that I've spoken in Parliament, and I was like talking about what I had been doing in terms of diplomatic work. "It was clear that they didn't agree with me, and it was clear that it wasn't going to be resolved. So I said, look, 'we'll stop it there'. ‌ "We walked away from where we were due to be campaigning, and then they started following us down the street. "The interaction was getting more inflammatory, more aggressive, more frustrated, I suppose from their point of view, because they weren't getting what they wanted out of me necessarily. So they started following us down the street. It was awful, it was scary. They were shouting, 'Do you support genocide' and 'You're responsible for murder'. All of this was being screamed down the street as we were walking down the street. They were continuing to hand out leaflets to people as they were passing and screaming this to us. "We tried to get away from them, so we took a different route," she said. ‌ Ayeshah Behit leaving Cardiff Magistrates Court after being convicted of harassing Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones (Image: PA ) As they began knocking on doors in a different area, the pair - Ayeshah Behit and Hiba Ahmed - found them. "Every door we were knocking, they were then knocking and speaking to the people about why I was a genocidal baby killer. "It was just awful and I felt responsibility to my team, to my volunteers. I had quite a number of young volunteers never done this before that have been campaigning, and I didn't want them to be exposed to risk." She cancelled the session. ‌ "I think if that had been it, I would have said 'it was awful, but it's sadly part and parcel of being an elected representative or standing for an election. People have the right to speak to you and disagree with you'," she said. But that night, she said her office was defaced with stickers, which were highly adhesive and ripped the paintwork off. They were also put on local bus stops, local landmarks, monuments saying she supported genocide and was a "murderer". The Pontypridd MP continues: "Then they posted footage of the interaction that we had in person on social media but they did it in a way that was manipulated. They didn't put our full conversation on but amplified it, made it look like I was lying and that hurt me more than anything because people can say I'm many things, you can disagree with me, but I am not a liar. That really, really got to me because then that was when the huge amount of abuse started, because they incited a pile on for people to contact me, and it was relentless." ‌ As a candidate, she felt she couldn't withdraw from social media. "I didn't sleep. It was constant. I could turn the notifications off, but they were still there. I was doing a general election campaign and social media at that moment is key in terms of engaging with local voters and it was it was a bombardment which became terrifying because the escalation of abuse was awful." She has a young family, who has she spoken about publicly, but she said what didn't come out during the court case was that the pair broke bail conditions by emailing her. "One of the emails that was sent to me did make reference to the fact that I have a child and that really scared me because the words were used were 'I know you have a son ' and the way it was conveyed and it was really scary," she said. Hiba Ahmed, 26, (centre), leaving Cardiff Magistrates Court after being convicted of harassing Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones (Image: PA ) ‌ "It's really hard because I have chosen to be open and honest about my personal life because I think my personal experiences of being a mother going through IVF, having pre-cervical cancer, going through all the difficulties I have done, some of my colleagues have chosen not to open themselves up and not appear more human because of the risk that the more you open yourself up, the more then you become a target to potential attacks," she said. For the year before her case reached court, she said it was "hanging over me". "You know it's coming. and you psyche yourself up for it. You prepare yourself to go through that process. "I think about it all the time and now, I think about how will my interactions in public with constituents or whoever, what will that be like now? And I do feel like sadly, politics has become a lot more inflamed in recent years. ‌ "That's why it's also really important to humanise this, because people think we're just these people on screen or doing things rather than actually real human beings and that's why it's important to humanise this but then that does make me feel conscious of activity when out and about." All MPs have enhanced security offered to them after the killing of Sir David Amess. "I would say it is a different level of threat being a female MP because my male colleagues aren't necessarily subject to the misogynistic abuse that we are, which is more sustained. Research shows we are more prone to abuse compared to male colleagues and I would stress BME MPs are even more open to abuse." The risk factors into her day-to-day decisions. "Every time you plan to do something in person then you have to think about the safety implications. I'm not just responsible for myself. I'm responsible for my team. I'm responsible to whoever else may be coming to an event. I'm responsible for my family if they with me at an event, so you have to be aware and I think that's only responsible to do that of what security implications might mean about advertising your attendance something in advance, or opening something up to everyone to attend, or going to something that could be deemed to be controversial. ‌ "There's two sides of this. I've had a lot of praise and thanks from colleagues for pursuing the case because they have said thank you for being brave, because it's important that people realise that this is unacceptable and this did cross that threshold of holding your Member of Parliament to account and harassment and that's what the judge found in the case. "But then there's also the other side of this that I don't want what has happened to me and the normalisation of abusive of elected politicians to put anyone off from doing this job either. I have that responsibility to the next group of MPs coming forward, male or female, because this is still the best job in the world and I don't want that to influence anybody's decision into 'Gosh, this is awful. Why would anyone do that?' However, she does believe her experience of being a victim and having giving evidence in court will shape her experiences. "Now I've got that lived experience of having gone through it all, waiting for the trial to get to court, having been through the witness liaison officer scheme, speaking to police, the different agencies, being treated as a witness in court, giving evidence while your perpetrators in the dock and how that is all played out. ‌ "I have that experience now, which has helped me in terms of looking at, 'well, how can I make this experience better for victims and survivors?'. UK Government victims' minister Alex Davies-Jones has spoken about her own experiences of appearing in court (Image: Alex Davies-Jones ) "Ultimately, I don't want to diminish my case in any way, harassment happens to to individuals every day and it is awful and it is terrible, but also there are a number of victims and survivors all waiting years for their trial." ‌ She said she wants victims to be at the heart of the system. "One of the things I'm responsible for is the victims code, we are looking at how we give more power to the victims commissioner, so that they're able to hold agencies to account in our Bills coming forward and all of this is now feeding that work and giving me that perspective I didn't have before." Ms Davies-Jones said it has shaped her wanting to make sure victims can "take part in the justice system and do so safely and make them feel like they're able to represent the best version of themselves, so that we have an opportunity for justice to be heard in a courtroom" "Is there more we can do to make sure that victims actually stay engaged in the in the criminal justice system? Because we know court backlogs are so long, and we know that it can be quite difficult and traumatising to actually revisit that crime or your perpetrator in court," she said. ‌ There was a protest outside the court on that day, and protestors came to fill the public gallery. The courtroom had to be moved three times to accommodate all interested parties. "I just wanted to tell the truth, and I wanted to explain how all of this had happened. What's happening in Gaza is horrific. It's intolerable. It's awful and likewise, what happened on October 7 and the hostages still being held is awful and for people to think that I am in support of genocide or of murdering children is is it just terrible. I wanted to put that over that of course, that isn't the case. "We can have a difference of opinion about how you approach things and politics and policies but there is a line and when that line is crossed, then the action should be taken." Article continues below

North Wales Live

10 hours ago

• North Wales Live

The latest North Wales police officers who have left the force in disgrace

Violent abusers and peverts are among the latest police officers, across Wales, who have been kicked off the force. Through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all of the four police forces in Wales, WalesOnline has obtained details of most police misconduct cases from the last two years. The list includes a PC caught working other jobs while signed off sick, a sergeant who remained in post despite a criminal conviction for smashing a child's phone in rage, and a paedophile jailed for a decade, reports WalesOnline. In North Wales four officers have recently left the force for reasons including showing bodycam footage of a dead man off-duty and making "offensive comments" The North Wales Police Officers PC Matthew Roberts showed bodycam footage of a dead man to his colleague PCSO Manon Roberts (who was also his girlfriend) while off duty. A misconduct panel heard he also showed her videos of himself arresting people and found parts of the footage "amusing". Roberts even sent PCSO Roberts pictures of the baby of a woman he had arrested. The panel concluded he would have been sacked had he not quit. PCs Terrence Flanagan and Kenneth Iwan Williams attended a domestic incident and made "cruel, shocking and offensive comments" about a victim of domestic abuse. Their "misogynistic" and "sexualised" comments about the woman - and also about police colleagues - were caught because PC Flanagan had left his bodycam on. The chief constable found they both would have been fired had they not resigned. PC Owain Lewis threw a tray of food at his ex-girlfriend (a fellow PC) after finding her in "a state of undress" with one of their colleagues. He also smashed his ex's phone and got into a fight with the male colleague. A misconduct panel heard PC Lewis and the woman had split up after an eight-year relationship but they still shared a home in Buckley, Flintshire, where the scuffle broke out in a spare bedroom. The panel ordered PC Lewis be dismissed for gross misconduct. In the cases of two other North Wales Police officers, PC Daniel Jones and PC Vincent Jones, misconduct allegations were found not proved. WalesOnline said it made the FOI requests to find out how many officers' names were protected by anonymity orders - an issue which has recently led to it successfully challenging an order not to name a disgraced former Dyfed-Powys Police officer and reporting on a troubling restriction from South Wales Police on naming a corrupt ex-officer. In their FOI responses both Dyfed-Powys Police and South Wales Police initially withheld all names, citing a need to protect personal data. WalesOnline appealed - and at one point reported South Wales Police to a data watchdog because it was not responding - then both forces overturned their decisions, although some names continue to be withheld. The Gwent Police officers While off-duty, PC Joseph Cook punched a man he had spotted leaving a Cardiff nightclub with his former partner. Cook had been drinking on a night out when he saw the pair exit a St Mary Street club and walk past him. He pushed the man to the ground and punched him, causing cuts and bruises, before other police officers intervened. The chef constable found Cook would have been sacked had he not resigned. PC Benjamin French sexually assaulted a colleague while off-duty at a party, lifting her skirt and grabbing her bottom. He later claimed he could not "really remember" it but accepted the victim's account. The chief constable concluded he would have been fired had he not quit. PC Nathan Collings isolated his partners from their families and friends and monitored their social media. He used a tracking app to monitor the movements of one partner and used a "pet cam" to spy on her at home. After the relationship ended he stalked her by going into her house when she was out, and watching the property from a van. He was not only barred from policing but jailed for two and a half years after admitting stalking, controlling and coercive behaviour, and threatening to disclose private sexual photos. PC Jack Bannister sexually assaulted a fellow officer while on a night out in Cardiff. Twice he inappropriately touched the woman's buttocks as well as making inappropriate comments. The chief constable found Bannister's actions amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have been sacked had he not quit already. PC Huw Orphan broke his wife's back by kicking her down a flight of stairs during an argument. A Cardiff Crown Court jury found him guilty of grievous bodily harm against his police officer wife Amy Burley, who was left with frequent pain and mobility issues. He was jailed for two and a half years and the assistant chief constable barred him from policing. Wannabe firearms officer PC Avron Roulstone used vile homophobic language about a colleague, calling her "that f***ing d**e" and then asking other officers: "Are you going to report me?" The misconduct panel heard he "devised a campaign" against the more junior colleague – a gay woman – and even "fist-bumped" a member of the public who had hurled homophobic abuse at her. He would have been sacked had he not quit. DC Mark Peploe inappropriately touched a colleague on a Christmas night out. The chief constable described his behaviour as "totally unacceptable" and said he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he not already resigned. PC Paolo Goharjouy committed gross conduct by contacting sex workers to obtain their services. He sent 57 texts and had 629 contacts in his phone who were known or strongly suspected to be sex workers. The assistant chief constable said he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. PC John Stringer was sacked by the assistant chief constable after he was found guilty by a Cardiff Crown Court jury of two counts of sexual assault by touching, two of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one of causing a child to watch a sexual act. The abuse came to light after the victim confided in a teaching assistant at school. Stringer was jailed for 10 years. PC Gediminas Palubinskas committed gross misconduct by failing to submit a business interest while suspended from duty for unrelated matters. He also "submitted evidential material purporting to be another person whilst suspended from duty". The chief constable said he would have been sacked had he not quit. Another Gwent Police officer was kept anonymous in their hearing. The force said the officer - who was barred from policing for interfering with an investigation and inappropriate sexualised communications with a colleague - was granted anonymity by the chief constable on "medical grounds" and "health concerns of the former officer". Six other Gwent Police officers kicked out for misconduct were named when their hearings took place but the force refused to tell us their names in its Freedom of Information response because more than three months had passed since their cases and the force had concerns about triggering "painful memories" for victims. These cases included cocaine use, domestic violence and excessive force against a detainee. The Dyfed-Powys Police officers PC Christopher Sanders was caught working other jobs while signed off sick from the force. He earned £450 from a care home where he fitted a floor and did odd jobs. He also made £770 tiling and painting for other clients during his months on sick leave. Last December the chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not quit. PC Martyn Stephens behaved in an "inappropriate manner" towards two colleagues on the evening of April 30 last year. In January a misconduct panel found he would have been sacked had he not resigned already. Carmarthenshire PC Christian Stobbs quit the force while under investigation for computer misuse offences, which he admitted when he accepted a caution. He had used police systems, including "mapping technology", to monitor a person with no policing justification. The chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not resigned. PC Gareth Horton exchanged homophobic, transphobic, racist and sexist messages with another officer. He claimed he was "trying to fit in" when he sent the WhatsApp messages to an officer from Merseyside Police, where Horton was serving at the time. He replied to "inappropriate" messages with "crying laughing" emojis and sent messages which had "homophobic and violent overtones", according to a misconduct panel who dismissed him in March. Ceredigion PC Simon Williams admitted sexually touching a woman in an Aberaeron pub without her consent while he was off-duty. He received a conditional caution and sent a letter of apology to the victim. The chief constable found he would have been sacked had he not already retired. Supt Gary Davies committed gross misconduct by touching female staff members without permission and comparing women to sports cars. The 58-year-old from Bridgend, who was nicknamed "the octopus", excluded female staff from meetings and had an "obvious corrosive effect" on colleagues, according to a misconduct panel who ordered he be dismissed. One Dyfed-Powys officer, PC Nicholas Jenkins, was given a final written warning for gross misconduct but we do not know the details of his behaviour because the force refused to provide us with the notice that was served against him, citing the need to protect "third-party personal data". Another officer, PC Lawrence Rew, was found not to have committed misconduct. Two Dyfed-Powys officers' names were withheld because of anonymity orders imposed by their misconduct panels. Both were found to have committed gross misconduct, but one was let off with a final written warning while the other was barred from policing. The force told us anonymity was granted because of "safety concerns in respect of the officer" in one case and "restrictions imposed by a separate court process" in the other case. The South Wales Police officers PC Jamie Davies started a relationship with a woman he had met on dating app Hinge and quickly embarked on a campaign of jealous and controlling behaviour which made her life hell. After pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour he was handed a suspended prison sentence, 150 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation and a 10-year restraining order. The chief constable dismissed him from the force. PC Katie White failed to report her boyfriend's law-breaking until they broke up. She was in a relationship with a man from late 2022 until September 2023, then within days of the breakup she called police. She claimed her ex had been driving without insurance since January that year and had been driving under the influence of cannabis while his children were in the vehicle. The assistant chief constable said White ignored her duty to report criminal activity earlier, and added she would have been fired had she not quit. A misconduct panel found PC Darren Whatley acted in a "predatory" manner and caused "emotional harm" to three colleagues. He exposed his genitals to one woman, asked another to have sex with him in his car and told a third he would "gas" her. He would have been dismissed had he not retired. Off-duty Special Constable Joshua Edwards breached standards of professional behaviour involving authority, respect and courtesy with his behaviour towards an ex-partner. He would have been dismissed by the misconduct panel had he not quit. PC Spencer Crane was off duty and socialising in Cardiff's Caroline Street and the Hayes when he got into a scuffle with DC Jack Harris and an unnamed female colleague. The misconduct panel heard he grabbed the female PC "to the neck", causing her to fall to the ground, as well as "lunging" at DC Harris and fighting him on the floor. The panel found Crane was the aggressor and that he would have been sacked had he not quit. Sergeant Matthew O'Sullivan was found guilty at Newport Magistrates' Court of criminal damage but he was allowed to keep his policing job. The offence involved him smashing the mobile of a 15-year-old boy who had made hoax 999 calls with friends. The chief constable spared O'Sullivan dismissal and instead imposed a five-year final written warning. He took into account that the sergeant was "frustrated at the massive waste of police resource", and was sorry for acting "foolishly in the heat of the moment". Off-duty PC Salman Malik was driving a Tesla from Cardiff to Leicester when he was stopped by two Leicestershire Police officers. He told them the car was his sister's but that he had temporary insurance to drive it, which was false. Malik was sacked by the chief constable after being sentenced at Loughborough Magistrates' Court to a £430 fine and six penalty points for driving without insurance. Sergeant Rhodri Davies, a former boxer, was sacked by a misconduct panel after punching a man detained in a cell at Swansea Central police station. The victim, Tariq Evans, was handcuffed when he was swung to the floor and then struck by Mr Davies, who also used a "dangerous" restraint on his neck, according to the panel, who described his actions as "deplorable". Three South Wales Police officers who faced misconduct proceedings have been kept anonymous. One, known as Officer F, was recently barred from policing after he admitted the criminal offence of illegally accessing computer material. The corrupt officer repeatedly accessed the force system and leaked information to five members of the public. This is a serious offence, punishable with up to two years in prison, but Officer F was let off with a caution. The force didn't respond when asked why he wasn't charged. We know his name and his rank, but the force's chief constable Jeremy Vaughan continues to block us from telling you because of concerns for "the health and wellbeing of a child". You can read our piece on why this flies in the face of legal precedent and principles of transparency here. The other two officers were anonymised because of concerns for their safety. One was a PC sacked for gross misconduct. In the case of the second officer, a sergeant, misconduct was not proved. 'A mystery without any rationale' Former police and crime commissioner for North Wales, Arfon Jones, spoke to WalesOnline last month about the importance of transparency after becoming concerned by the anonymity orders protecting Officer F and, initially, Justin Ellerton. "Why legally qualified chairs of misconduct panels and senior police officers grant anonymity to accused officers is often a mystery without any rationale, and it seems increasingly to be the norm rather than an exception," said Mr Jones, who had a long career as a police officer. "It is particularly worrying that accused officers are avoiding criminal charges in an open court and instead quietly being sacked and remaining anonymous," he added. "It is in the public interest that officers who have committed serious criminal offences are tried in an open court the same as any other citizen. Anything else will be perceived to be a cover-up." Gwent Police asked WalesOnline to include a statement from its deputy chief constable Nicola Brain on the force's pledge to dismiss officers who "betray the trust and confidence of our communities". She said: "Our starting position is to hold all proceedings in public session, allowing us to be open and transparent with regards to the police misconduct process. But there are occasions when expert advice dictates, whether from medical professionals or ongoing criminal investigations, that some details will be heard in private session or with reporting restrictions. "It is important that we also consider the impact of a public hearing on those who bravely speak out about misconduct before a determination is made."

Wales Online

14 hours ago

• Wales Online

The latest Welsh police officers kicked out in disgrace

The latest Welsh police officers kicked out in disgrace We have obtained details of most police misconduct cases from the last two years Former PCs John Stringer, left, and Jamie Davies (Image: WalesOnline ) Perverts and violent abusers are among the latest Welsh police officers kicked off the force. Through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all of the four police forces in Wales, we have obtained details of most police misconduct cases from the last two years. The list includes a PC caught working other jobs while signed off sick, a sergeant who remained in post despite a criminal conviction for smashing a child's phone in rage, and a paedophile jailed for a decade. We made the FOI requests to find out how many officers' names were protected by anonymity orders — an issue which has recently led to us successfully challenging an order not to name a disgraced former Dyfed-Powys Police officer and reporting on a troubling restriction from South Wales Police on naming a corrupt ex-officer. In their FOI responses both Dyfed-Powys Police and South Wales Police initially withheld all names, citing a need to protect personal data. We appealed — and at one point reported South Wales Police to a data watchdog because it was not responding — then both forces overturned their decisions, although some names continue to be withheld. The Gwent Police officers While off-duty, PC Joseph Cook punched a man he had spotted leaving a Cardiff nightclub with his former partner. Cook had been drinking on a night out when he saw the pair exit a St Mary Street club and walk past him. He pushed the man to the ground and punched him, causing cuts and bruises, before other police officers intervened. The chef constable found Cook would have been sacked had he not resigned. PC Benjamin French sexually assaulted a colleague while off-duty at a party, lifting her skirt and grabbing her bottom. He later claimed he could not "really remember" it but accepted the victim's account. The chief constable concluded he would have been fired had he not quit. Article continues below Nathan Collings (Image: Gwent Polie ) PC Nathan Collings isolated his partners from their families and friends and monitored their social media. He used a tracking app to monitor the movements of one partner and used a "pet cam" to spy on her at home. After the relationship ended he stalked her by going into her house when she was out, and watching the property from a van. He was not only barred from policing but jailed for two and a half years after admitting stalking, controlling and coercive behaviour, and threatening to disclose private sexual photos. PC Jack Bannister sexually assaulted a fellow officer while on a night out in Cardiff. Twice he inappropriately touched the woman's buttocks as well as making inappropriate comments. The chief constable found Bannister's actions amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have been sacked had he not quit already. Huw Orphan, 32, was a constable with Gwent Police when he assaulted his wife and caused her to suffer a fractured spine. (Image: Gwent Police ) PC Huw Orphan broke his wife's back by kicking her down a flight of stairs during an argument. A Cardiff Crown Court jury found him guilty of grievous bodily harm against his police officer wife Amy Burley, who was left with frequent pain and mobility issues. He was jailed for two and a half years and the assistant chief constable barred him from policing. Wannabe firearms officer PC Avron Roulstone used vile homophobic language about a colleague, calling her "that f***ing d**e" and then asking other officers: "Are you going to report me?" The misconduct panel heard he "devised a campaign" against the more junior colleague – a gay woman – and even "fist-bumped" a member of the public who had hurled homophobic abuse at her. He would have been sacked had he not quit. DC Mark Peploe inappropriately touched a colleague on a Christmas night out. The chief constable described his behaviour as "totally unacceptable" and said he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he not already resigned. PC Paolo Goharjouy committed gross conduct by contacting sex workers to obtain their services. He sent 57 texts and had 629 contacts in his phone who were known or strongly suspected to be sex workers. The assistant chief constable said he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. PC John Stringer outside Cardiff Crown Court (Image: Ben Birchall/PA Wire ) PC John Stringer was sacked by the assistant chief constable after he was found guilty by a Cardiff Crown Court jury of two counts of sexual assault by touching, two of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one of causing a child to watch a sexual act. The abuse came to light after the victim confided in a teaching assistant at school. Stringer was jailed for 10 years. PC Gediminas Palubinskas committed gross misconduct by failing to submit a business interest while suspended from duty for unrelated matters. He also "submitted evidential material purporting to be another person whilst suspended from duty". The chief constable said he would have been sacked had he not quit. Another Gwent Police officer was kept anonymous in their hearing. The force said the officer — who was barred from policing for interfering with an investigation and inappropriate sexualised communications with a colleague — was granted anonymity by the chief constable on "medical grounds" and "health concerns of the former officer". Six other Gwent Police officers kicked out for misconduct were named when their hearings took place but the force refused to tell us their names in its Freedom of Information response because more than three months had passed since their cases and the force had concerns about triggering "painful memories" for victims. These cases included cocaine use, domestic violence and excessive force against a detainee. The Dyfed-Powys Police officers Llanelli-based Inspector Justin Ellerton sent messages to a known sex worker for four weeks, then collected her from her home and took her to "a location in the Morriston area, where she was led to believe she was to be paid for her sexual services." Instead he "abandoned the female in the locality" before making off. He resigned — and would have been sacked had he not — but the misconduct panel imposed an order to prevent the media naming him. WalesOnline successfully fought the order, which you can read more about here. PC Christopher Sanders was caught working other jobs while signed off sick from the force. He earned £450 from a care home where he fitted a floor and did odd jobs. He also made £770 tiling and painting for other clients during his months on sick leave. Last December the chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not quit. ‌ PC Martyn Stephens behaved in an "inappropriate manner" towards two colleagues on the evening of April 30 last year. In January a misconduct panel found he would have been sacked had he not resigned already. Carmarthenshire PC Christian Stobbs quit the force while under investigation for computer misuse offences, which he admitted when he accepted a caution. He had used police systems, including "mapping technology", to monitor a person with no policing justification. The chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not resigned. PC Gareth Horton exchanged homophobic, transphobic, racist and sexist messages with another officer. He claimed he was "trying to fit in" when he sent the WhatsApp messages to an officer from Merseyside Police, where Horton was serving at the time. He replied to "inappropriate" messages with "crying laughing" emojis and sent messages which had "homophobic and violent overtones", according to a misconduct panel who dismissed him in March. ‌ Ceredigion PC Simon Williams admitted sexually touching a woman in an Aberaeron pub without her consent while he was off-duty. He received a conditional caution and sent a letter of apology to the victim. The chief constable found he would have been sacked had he not already retired. Supt Gary Davies committed gross misconduct by touching female staff members without permission and comparing women to sports cars. The 58-year-old from Bridgend, who was nicknamed "the octopus", excluded female staff from meetings and had an "obvious corrosive effect" on colleagues, according to a misconduct panel who ordered he be dismissed. One Dyfed-Powys officer, PC Nicholas Jenkins, was given a final written warning for gross misconduct but we do not know the details of his behaviour because the force refused to provide us with the notice that was served against him, citing the need to protect "third-party personal data". Another officer, PC Lawrence Rew, was found not to have committed misconduct. ‌ Two Dyfed-Powys officers' names were withheld because of anonymity orders imposed by their misconduct panels. Both were found to have committed gross misconduct, but one was let off with a final written warning while the other was barred from policing. The force told us anonymity was granted because of "safety concerns in respect of the officer" in one case and "restrictions imposed by a separate court process" in the other case. The South Wales Police officers PC Jamie Davies outside Cardiff Crown Court (Image: John Myers ) PC Jamie Davies started a relationship with a woman he had met on dating app Hinge and quickly embarked on a campaign of jealous and controlling behaviour which made her life hell. After pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour he was handed a suspended prison sentence, 150 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation and a 10-year restraining order. The chief constable dismissed him from the force. ‌ PC Katie White failed to report her boyfriend's law-breaking until they broke up. She was in a relationship with a man from late 2022 until September 2023, then within days of the breakup she called police. She claimed her ex had been driving without insurance since January that year and had been driving under the influence of cannabis while his children were in the vehicle. The assistant chief constable said White ignored her duty to report criminal activity earlier, and added she would have been fired had she not quit. Former South Wales Police Constable Darren Whatley, pictured here in 2012 A misconduct panel found PC Darren Whatley acted in a "predatory" manner and caused "emotional harm" to three colleagues. He exposed his genitals to one woman, asked another to have sex with him in his car and told a third he would "gas" her. He would have been dismissed had he not retired. ‌ Off-duty Special Constable Joshua Edwards breached standards of professional behaviour involving authority, respect and courtesy with his behaviour towards an ex-partner. He would have been dismissed by the misconduct panel had he not quit. PC Spencer Crane was off duty and socialising in Cardiff's Caroline Street and the Hayes when he got into a scuffle with DC Jack Harris and an unnamed female colleague. The misconduct panel heard he grabbed the female PC "to the neck", causing her to fall to the ground, as well as "lunging" at DC Harris and fighting him on the floor. The panel found Crane was the aggressor and that he would have been sacked had he not quit. Sergeant Matthew O'Sullivan, from Merthyr Tydfil, was found guilty of damaging another person's phone at Tesco Express in Pontypridd (Image: Conor Gogarty ) ‌ Sergeant Matthew O'Sullivan was found guilty at Newport Magistrates' Court of criminal damage but he was allowed to keep his policing job. The offence involved him smashing the mobile of a 15-year-old boy who had made hoax 999 calls with friends. The chief constable spared O'Sullivan dismissal and instead imposed a five-year final written warning. He took into account that the sergeant was "frustrated at the massive waste of police resource", and was sorry for acting "foolishly in the heat of the moment". Off-duty PC Salman Malik was driving a Tesla from Cardiff to Leicester when he was stopped by two Leicestershire Police officers. He told them the car was his sister's but that he had temporary insurance to drive it, which was false. Malik was sacked by the chief constable after being sentenced at Loughborough Magistrates' Court to a £430 fine and six penalty points for driving without insurance. Sergeant Rhodri Davies, a former boxer, was sacked by a misconduct panel after punching a man detained in a cell at Swansea Central police station. The victim, Tariq Evans, was handcuffed when he was swung to the floor and then struck by Mr Davies, who also used a "dangerous" restraint on his neck, according to the panel, who described his actions as "deplorable". ‌ Three South Wales Police officers who faced misconduct proceedings have been kept anonymous. One, known as Officer F, was recently barred from policing after he admitted the criminal offence of illegally accessing computer material. The corrupt officer repeatedly accessed the force system and leaked information to five members of the public. This is a serious offence, punishable with up to two years in prison, but Officer F was let off with a caution. The force didn't respond when asked why he wasn't charged. We know his name and his rank, but the force's chief constable Jeremy Vaughan continues to block us from telling you because of concerns for "the health and wellbeing of a child". You can read our piece on why this flies in the face of legal precedent and principles of transparency here. The other two officers were anonymised because of concerns for their safety. One was a PC sacked for gross misconduct. In the case of the second officer, a sergeant, misconduct was not proved. ‌ The North Wales Police officers PC Matthew Roberts showed bodycam footage of a dead man to his colleague PCSO Manon Roberts (who was also his girlfriend) while off duty. A misconduct panel heard he also showed her videos of himself arresting people and found parts of the footage "amusing". Roberts even sent PCSO Roberts pictures of the baby of a woman he had arrested. The panel concluded he would have been sacked had he not quit. PCs Terrence Flanagan and Kenneth Iwan Williams attended a domestic incident and made 'cruel, shocking and offensive comments' about a victim of domestic abuse. Their "misogynistic" and "sexualised" comments about the woman — and also about police colleagues — were caught because PC Flanagan had left his bodycam on. The chief constable found they both would have been fired had they not resigned. Former North Wales PC Owain Lewis (Image: North Wales Police ) ‌ PC Owain Lewis threw a tray of food at his ex-girlfriend (a fellow PC) after finding her in "a state of undress" with one of their colleagues. He also smashed his ex's phone and got into a fight with the male colleague. A misconduct panel heard PC Lewis and the woman had split up after an eight-year relationship but they still shared a home in Buckley, Flintshire, where the scuffle broke out in a spare bedroom. The panel ordered PC Lewis be dismissed for gross misconduct. In the cases of two other North Wales Police officers, PC Daniel Jones and PC Vincent Jones, misconduct allegations were found not proved. 'A mystery without any rationale' Former police and crime commissioner for North Wales, Arfon Jones, spoke to us last month about the importance of transparency after becoming concerned by the anonymity orders protecting Officer F and, initially, Justin Ellerton. "Why legally qualified chairs of misconduct panels and senior police officers grant anonymity to accused officers is often a mystery without any rationale, and it seems increasingly to be the norm rather than an exception," said Mr Jones, who had a long career as a police officer. ‌ "It is particularly worrying that accused officers are avoiding criminal charges in an open court and instead quietly being sacked and remaining anonymous," he added. "It is in the public interest that officers who have committed serious criminal offences are tried in an open court the same as any other citizen. Anything else will be perceived to be a cover-up." Gwent Police asked us to include a statement from its deputy chief constable Nicola Brain on the force's pledge to dismiss officers who "betray the trust and confidence of our communities". She said: "Our starting position is to hold all proceedings in public session, allowing us to be open and transparent with regards to the police misconduct process. But there are occasions when expert advice dictates, whether from medical professionals or ongoing criminal investigations, that some details will be heard in private session or with reporting restrictions. Article continues below "It is important that we also consider the impact of a public hearing on those who bravely speak out about misconduct before a determination is made." If you would like to tell us about an issue that should be investigated, you can contact our investigations editor at