A FORMER police constable has been found culpable of gross misconduct following an accelerated misconduct hearing in June.

On June 19, Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell concluded that former Police Constable Daniel Leggasick had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of Honesty and Integrity, Duties and Responsibilities, Orders and Instructions and Discreditable Conduct, and had he still been serving, he would have been dismissed without notice.

The hearing looked at two allegations, firstly, that former Police Constable Leggasick falsely declared in a crime report he had provided words of advice to relevant parties involved in a case on November 29, 2023 when no such advice was given.

Former Constable Leggasick subsequently admitted this was a false and misleading update, in that no such words of advice had been given to either party.

Secondly, on December 5, 2023, former Constable Leggasick presented a copy of an interview plan to his assessor, purportedly for an interview that took place on June 14, 2023.

Former Constable Leggasick has subsequently admitted that this document had in fact been produced by him on December 7, 2023, shortly after it had been requested by his assessor.

Former Constable Leggasick has fully admitted that his conduct on both occasions was deliberate, misleading and dishonest.

Following the hearing it was concluded that the allegations were proven and that is behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

Superintendent Jo Arundale from the Devon and Cornwall Police Professional Standards Department said: “The Force and the public expect all officers, staff and volunteers to carry out their roles to a high standard and to behave in an honest manner. In this case, former Police Constable Daniel Leggasick’s actions have fallen below that.

“Deliberately and dishonestly misleading a supervisor departs significantly from the expectation clearly held by the public in terms of how an officer should conduct themselves, both on and off duty.

“This is not a case of an officer making a mistake or exercising poor judgement whilst under extreme stress or provocation whilst doing their duty. Former Constable Leggasick deliberately chose to misconduct himself on both occasions, knowing that he was misleading his supervisor and his assessor.”