(28) Grievance Appeal.

I think it was in March, 2017 a police officer who knew of some of the events surrounding my investigation spoke to me. They asked if I had heard about the incident on 28th December 2016 at Castlemorton. I remembered seeing something about it on the National or local TV news.

The Ledbury Hunt had been out in the Castlemorton area, near Malvern. Hunt Monitors had discovered the Hunt terriermen, attempting to dig out a fox that had gone to ground in a sett. Angry at being disturbed they threatened the Hunt Monitors and following a short stand-off they filled in the hole they’d started to dig and then left.

The incident was captured on video and shown on the news. A Ledbury Hunt Terrier man was later charged with affray. However, the police officer told me that after the incident appeared on the news, Crown Prosecutor, (you guessed it), Stephen Davies contacted West Mercia Police once again in an attempt to become involved! Why would that be? This was not a ‘Wildlife’ crime! Why was he so interested in getting involved in offences that were connected to hunts? Mmmmm.

Fortunately, on this occasion he was told that his services would not be required.

So, where were we? I’d had a half hearted apology from my Chief Inspector who said there was no evidence of my having any affairs. I’d also been informed that the Misconduct case against me was being dropped but my grievance had not been upheld. On 27th March 2017 I sent this email to DS Nicholas Husbands in PSD..

Following the visit from CI Jones to our home address, I then sent this on 3rd April 2017…

DS Husbands’s very non-committal response!! Have a look and consider his first paragraph. West Mercia Police had questioned me about a suspected affair, thus bringing my marriage of nearly 30 years and my family life into my work life. West Mercia Police were then expecting me to exclude my wife from any further communications regarding this!! Well DS Husbands, if you have a partner, I want you to go home and ask them if the tables were turned, whether or not they would be OK with that?

What DS Husbands, who was working in the Professional Standards Department had apparently forgot to do before writing the above letter, was to read this 109 page Document!! (And lets not forget that DI TAYLOR previously worked in PSD too)!!

So… what is unsatisfactory performance? It is defined in Regulation 4 of the Police (Performance) Regulations as,

“ an inability or failure of a police officer to perform the duties of the role or rank he (or she) is currently undertaking to a satisfactory standard or level”.

So… what did the list of 10 questions on Document 7 have to do with unsatisfactory performance? This was a nonsense. And even if it did, (which it didn’t)……………

Page 8 – Police Friend, Police officers have the right to consult with, and be accompanied by, a police friend at any interview during an investigation into misconduct and at all stages of the misconduct or performance proceedings.

Let’s go to page 59……

Let’s be clear, this was not a performance meeting, it was an unlawful interview. Everyone knew it, my sergeant, senior officers and Professional Standards. Not one of them had the integrity to deal with it as such. Shame on them all.

I would have to keep fighting, both the injustices of the senior officers who thought I would just roll over under the pressure, (or perhaps they thought I had Stockholm’s Syndrome), and also the battle with the haunting mental health condition being made progressively worse by the actions and inactions of the ‘institution’.

I completed and submitted my Grievance Appeal.

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