A police officer who urinated in a clothes shop fitting room during a day out drinking with her friends has kept her job despite not being honest with her supervisors about what happened.
PC Amerlia Shearer, 24, of Cleveland Police, was found guilty in 2021 of gross misconduct following the incident in a York branch of Urban Outfitters.
A disciplinary panel in Middlesbrough found her conduct was discreditable, and she had been dishonest.
Rather than sacking the officer, the panel issued her a final written warning.
The panel’s chairwoman, Ogheneruona Iguyovwe, said:
“There is scope for her to be rehabilitated, there is scope for her to set the record straight and to begin on a new path.”
Ms Iguyovwe had earlier pointed out that police officers were “expected to maintain high standards of behaviour” and should consider if their actions might cause a loss of confidence in the police.
“Officers are required to act with integrity and honesty at all times,” she said.
For three days, the panel was told that the probationer had been in York with a friend while off-duty on 11th September.
For four hours, the officer drank half a bottle of Prosecco, three cocktails and a Jack Daniels and Coke before going to the store.
While there, she is alleged to have asked a sales assistant if the store had toilets, and when told it did not, she went into a changing room cubicle.
PC Shearer, who studied for a Masters in criminal investigations before joining the police in 2019, admitted she had been drunk and described herself and her friend as “loud and giggly”.
But she denied relieving herself in the store.
PC Shearer claimed to have used the changing rooms to adjust her bra – but had told her superior, Insp Christian Duree, she had been trying on clothes during a phone call the day after it happened.
She explained that she only gave him an “abridged version” of events, but Cleveland Police accused her of lying – and the panel agreed.
Olivia Checa-Dover, acting for the force, said the conclusion that PC Shearer had been dishonest meant she was now “undeployable”.
She said the fact the officer had lied while being questioned on oath would have to be disclosed to defence lawyers in any future investigations she carried out.
Joan Smith, for the defendant, said PC Shearer had unfailingly denied the claims, had good references, and her inspector had described her performance as “excellent”.
She said the officer had the potential to be “exceptional” and to “flourish in this police force with the appropriate guidance”.
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