A police officer in England who filmed himself masturbating while in uniform has been banned from the profession for life.
PC Simon Barker sent the video of the solo sex act to his partner after filming it at a police station.
Barker, a member of the North Yorkshire Police’s rural crime team, quit his job a day before he was due to appear before a misconduct hearing.
A panel ruled he would have been sacked for gross misconduct had he not already resigned.
Barker was “clearly identifiable” in the X-rated clip, which he sent to an unnamed woman via WhatsApp in February 2022, a misconduct hearing at force headquarters in Northallerton on Tuesday was told.
He did not attend the hearing and in his absence, chief constable Tim Forber found his behavior amounted to gross misconduct and placed him on the police barred list.
A notice of outcome sent to Barker after the hearing read: “This conduct is a breach of the standards of professional behavior of discreditable conduct. By this action you have brought discredit on the police service. This conduct is also a breach of the standards of professional behavior of authority, respect and courtesy.”
The notice went on to read “Your behavior could have impaired your own effectiveness as a police officer and damaged your own reputation and that of policing.”
Forber noted there was a “clear risk” that the video could have been distributed more widely, undermining public confidence in the force.
Speaking on his behalf, Barker’s Police Federation union representative said the ex-cop apologized for his actions and had been “proud” to serve with the force.
Forber added that the evidence had not been disputed by Barker and he had received a letter of resignation from him on Dec. 9.
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