Former Avon and Somerset police officer banned after failing to record domestic assault
David Hawkins was found to have committed gross misconduct
David Hawkins, a 43-year-old former police officer with Avon and Somerset Police, has been added to the national barred list for police officers after a finding of gross misconduct.
The ruling was made during a public hearing held yesterday at the Police and Fire Headquarters in Portishead. The panel determined Hawkins had breached several standards expected of police officers, including honesty, integrity, and respect, following an allegation of operational dishonesty.
In 2018, Hawkins attended a domestic incident during which a woman disclosed she had been assaulted by her partner. Instead of recording the allegation, Hawkins documented the matter as a “verbal argument” with “no offences disclosed” and assessed the risk level as “standard.”
Hawkins also failed to upload footage from his body-worn camera, which could have provided evidence of the disclosure. He then reportedly did not use his body-worn camera for six months.
Following Hawkins’ inaction, police received further disclosures about the assault from other agencies. These led to a full investigation of the incident the next day.
WhatsApp messages exchanged between Hawkins and another officer, presented during the hearing, showed Hawkins admitting: “I’m in serious trouble here” and “It’s my fault and I’ll have to live with the consequences.”
Responding to the allegations, Hawkins said he accepted failing to document the assault correctly but could not recall why. He also admitted that he could and should have raised the assault allegation after a subsequent incident involving the same individuals.
Hawkins said: “I do regret this incident and am far from proud as to how I dealt with it. I let myself down that day.”
Hawkins resigned before the misconduct hearing but would have been dismissed had he still been serving.
Detective Superintendent Larisa Hunt, head of Professional Standards at Avon and Somerset Police, said:
“David Hawkins attended a reported incident of domestic abuse, and failed to record a crime when an assault was disclosed to him. He failed in his duty to protect a vulnerable woman and, to make matters worse, tried to hide it.
“Behaviour like his has no place in policing and we’re determined to root it out. Our goal is for people to have the confidence to come to us when they need our help.”