PC barred from policing over assault recording

A former officer has been barred from policing after a misconduct hearing found he failed to record assault allegations properly, later texting a colleague and saying "I'm in serious trouble here".

David Hawkins, 43, would have been dismissed from Avon and Somerset Police for gross misconduct if he had not resigned already, the hearing was told.

Hawkins failed to record an allegation of assault in 2018 after he attended an incident where a woman told him she had been hit by her partner, it was revealed.

At the misconduct hearing at the force's HQ in Portishead on 22 January, it was accepted that an allegation of operational dishonesty had been proved against him.

At the time of the incident in 2018, Hawkins recorded it as a verbal argument, adding "no offences disclosed" and gave it a standard risk assessment.

The criminal offence allegation was recorded on his bodyworn camera, but he failed to upload it to police servers, and then didn't use the camera for six months.

Later on, Hawkins sent messages on WhatsApp to another officer, saying he was in "serious trouble", adding "it's my fault and I'll have to live with the consequences".

Giving evidence, Hawkins said he accepted he didn't record the assault properly, but that he couldn't remember making a decision not to upload footage of the allegation.

He said he was "really shoddy" with using the camera.

"I do regret this incident and am far from proud as to how I dealt with it. I let myself down that day," he added.

Head of Professional Standards, Det Supt Larisa Hunt said: "David Hawkins attended a reported incident of domestic abuse, and failed to record a crime when an assault was disclosed to him.

"He failed in his duty to protect a vulnerable woman and, to make matters worse, tried to hide it."

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