The panel accepted such a long time between the event and the victim reporting it as people take different amount of time to process things
A Met Police officer gained ‘sexual gratification’ from touching a colleague’s backside. Disgraced ex-cop PC Kevin Beedel – who at the time had just got married – touched his colleague, known as ‘PC A’, at a work Christmas event held at Aldenham Country Park in Hertfordshire.
After trying to get away from creep Beedel, he ‘followed his victim’, dismissing it as ‘horseplay.’ Beedel’s wandering hands were also witnessed by colleagues, Sergeant Luu, who said the touching was consensual, and PC Grabowski.
In her evidence, PC A said she felt Beedel was ‘a bit creepy and that he would sometimes stare at her.’ She also claimed that when Beedel touched her ‘left bottom cheek,’ she responded with something to the effect of “don’t do that” to which PC Beedel allegedly replied “I’m just being friendly.”
It was also claimed that PC A had spoken to Sergeant Luu who she said was laughing, and that he called Beedel a ‘pervert.’ PC A added that ‘lad culture’ on the team meant she fear being ‘ostracised’ had she reported it at the time.
Her evidence also showed that before the sexual assault, Beedel had liked old photos of her on Instagram, including pictures of her in bikinis from years ago. She considered this ‘inappropriate’ and thought there was something ‘sinister’ in it. But the panel ‘made no finding’ on it.
The Panel determined that imposing a final written warning would not be sufficient to uphold public confidence in and respect for the police service. Beedel was dismissed without notice.
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