Police officer sacked over what she did in Asda on her day off

A police officer has been sacked after she tried to get CCTV from Asda following a car crash involving one of her relatives.

Pc Brigitta Pal appeared before a misconduct hearing held at Mersyeside Police HQ between September 9 and 11 where it was determined she had breached the standards of professional behaviour to the level of gross misconduct. The hearing was told on July 29 last year one of Pal's relatives was involved in a minor crash at Asda in Birchwood, Warrington, the Liverpool Echo reports.

The relative, whose name is redacted in the report, exchanged details with the other party, whose identity is also protected. Shortly after the incident the other party began to receive telephone calls from a withheld number.

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When they eventually answered, Pal stated she was an officer from Merseyside Police and had witnessed the incident and the other party was at fault. Pal, who was on a rest day, also stated she had viewed the CCTV at Asda.

Pal didn't provide any contact details nor stated where she got their number from. She later attended Asda and viewed the CCTV. However, during her attempts to get the CCTV she failed to tell staff that she was related to one of the people involved and did not disclose the full details of the incident.

She also didn't mention that she was off-duty at the time of the incident. The hearing heard that Asda refused to hand over the CCTV to Pal without a crime reference number. An investigation was opened and carried out by the force's professional standards department following a complaint from the public.

The hearing concluded former Constable Pal had breached the following standards of professional behaviour - honesty and integrity - and was discreditable. The force said: "It was proven that the officer had been dishonest in her dealings with the complainant. Her actions whilst dealing with an incident involving another family member demonstrated a lack of integrity, which in turn was discreditable."

The former constable was dismissed without notice and will be added to the College of Policing barred list for a minimum of five years. Merseyside Police Detective Chief Superintendent Sarbjit Kaur, who is head of Merseyside Police's professional standards department, said: "We always demand the highest possible standards from all our officers and staff, both on and off duty."

"The public quite rightly have high expectations of our officers and Merseyside Police is committed to ensuring we meet those expectations. The actions of Constable Pal were thoroughly investigated by my team following a complaint made by a member of the public."

"I hope this outcome shows how seriously we take these reports and that the public are also reassured that we have now dismissed an officer who failed to meet our high standards. When we receive information about those alleged to have fallen below those standards, we will always thoroughly investigate, and where necessary take action, to ensure the public across Merseyside can continue to have the utmost confidence in the force."