Police officer who admitted harassment dismissed without notice following misconduct hearing

A police officer who harassed his supervisor and her sister has been dismissed without notice following an accelerated misconduct hearing.

PC Ashley Weller had previously appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court in September where he pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment.

Magistrates heard the officer published posts on social media between 25 and 27 December last year which caused distress to his Sergeant and her sister.

He was subsequently sentenced to a 12-month community order, given a 12-month restraining order and told to adhere to an eight week curfew. He was also told to pay compensation, fined and ordered to pay court costs.

An accelerated misconduct hearing chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson took place at Police Headquarters yesterday (Thursday 19 December), following the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.

ACC Mathieson subsequently concluded PC Weller’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and dismissed him without notice. PC Weller has also been placed on the Police Barred List.

ACC Mathieson said: “PC Weller admitted in court that his actions were criminal, for which he has already been held to account by magistrates.

“Now that the court case has concluded, a misconduct process has taken place to determine whether he is fit to remain working for Gloucestershire Police and allowed to continue serving the public.

“Officers, staff and those who we serve should always feel safe interacting with every employee of Gloucestershire Police and behaviour such as that committed by PC Weller presents a real threat to the trust and confidence people have in us as a service and must be dealt with robustly.

“There is no place in our organisation for anyone who bullies or harasses a colleague or any member of the public and after hearing all the facts of the case, it was clear to me his actions are incompatible with the standards expected of a police officer and the only option is dismissal.”

A copy of the full outcome of the hearing will be published on the misconduct section of our website in due course.