'Dishonest' Market Drayton cop who forged victim's signature would have been sacked if he didn't resign
A police officer who forged a victim's signature on a statement would have been dismissed if he had not already resigned, a gross misconduct hearing has found.
Christopher Sargeant, 55, a Police Constable who was previously based in Market Drayton, was found to have seriously breached the force's standards of professional behaviour.
A hearing today (Friday, June 20), chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Grant Wills, heard that on or around November 10 in 2022, Mr Sargeant made a false entry in his police issue pocket notebook.
The entry claimed that the victim of a crime did not wish for there to be any further police action. But, this was false, and Mr Sargeant was also found to have forged the victim’s signature on the statement.
The hearing determined that Mr Sargeant would have been sacked if he had not already resigned from his position.
West Mercia Police said he breached the "honesty and integrity, discreditable conduct, and duties and responsibilities" through his actions.
Deputy Chief Constable at West Mercia Police, Rachel Jones, said: "The dishonesty and total lack of integrity shown by Christopher Sargeant is inexcusable. He abused his power as a police officer, and in the process totally undermined the trust which the victim had placed in the force when reporting the crime.
"His actions were totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated within our force."
