Former Bristol officer barred from policing
PC Jack Wood had pretended to be in a relationship with a woman he followed on social media
Last updated 16th Jan 2026
A Bristol police officer who became ‘fixated’ with a woman on Instagram and spun a web of lies to friends and colleagues that they were in a sexual relationship has been barred from policing.
PC Jack Wood bombarded the female with unwanted messages, calling her ‘beautiful’ 36 times between March 2023 and July 2024 despite the fact she did not respond, and saved 83 images of her from social media on his mobile phone as ‘proof’ of their completely fabricated relationship.
A police misconduct hearing at Avon & Somerset Police headquarters in Portishead on Friday, January 16, ruled that the officer, based at Bridewell in the city centre, committed gross misconduct and would have been sacked without notice had he not resigned just days ago.
PC Wood told a mutual friend explicit details about their apparent sex life, that he had taken Ms A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to get the morning-after pill, and that she’d had cosmetic surgery and was ‘broody’.
But the friend did not believe him and, after challenging the constable and getting him to admit he was lying, reported him to the police who arrested him in August 2024.
Prosecutors decided in March 2025 that PC Wood would face no further action as part of the criminal investigation.
But Friday’s misconduct panel chairman Craig Holden found he had breached the professional standards of honesty and integrity; authority, respect and courtesy; and discreditable conduct.
Barrister Mark Ley-Morgan, representing the constabulary, said: “Between March 2023 and July 2024 you became fixated with Ms A, sent numerous messages on Instagram in which you commented on her appearance and asked her out on a date when you knew or should have known that Ms A was not interested in having any sort of relationship with you.
“You told friends and colleagues that you were in an intimate and/or sexual relationship with Ms A when you knew that was not true.”
He said PC Wood accessed the woman’s social media without her permission and used information and photographs she had posted to ‘give credence to your false claim’ that they were having a relationship.
Mr Ley-Morgan said the officer acted without self-control and that his actions caused Ms A to be fearful of his intentions and left her ‘shocked and concerned’.
He told the panel: “This behaviour by a male police officer towards a female is particularly troubling and any reasonable member of the public would be extremely concerned about it.
“On July 29, 2024, he effectively deleted his Instagram account.
“Shortly before his arrest on August 8, 2024, he was using Google to search for information about what the police could retrieve if he deleted information from his phone.
“We have clearly got the officer trawling through her Instagram account, and also her gym’s, looking for images of her.
“The officer had tampered with her photos.
“She expressed considerable distress and worry.”
Mr Ley-Morgan said one witness told investigators that PC Wood’s nickname for Ms A was ‘Prime Tuna’.
He said: “The officer has intentionally told lies to both colleagues and friends about being in a relationship with Ms A.
“He has gone to some length to give the impression his lies were true by using information from Ms A’s Instagram account.
“The officer has clearly behaved without self-control.
“She wasn’t remotely interested in having a relationship, or indeed any contact, with him.”
Mr Ley-Morgan said PC Wood had previously received a written warning in March 2020 for similar conduct with a female colleague.
He said the officer sent Ms A numerous messages on Instagram, mostly relating to photos she posted from her gym workouts.
In one, PC Wood said: “Bloody hell you are in insane shape.”
In another he called her ‘stunning’.
She did not reply to the messages until he asked her out in July 2024 and Ms A told him she was not dating at the moment.
When the woman found out days later that he had told people they were in a relationship, she messaged him to say: “Hi, I’m pretty sure we haven’t been going on dates? If you can go round and correct what information you’ve been passing to others, that’ll be appreciated.”
He didn’t deny it and said he could only apologise.
Ms A then blocked him and he deleted his account.
PC Wood did not appear at the hearing and was not represented.
But he claimed there was an abuse of process and that the hearing should not go ahead because he was the victim of ‘institutional entrapment’, a claim rejected by the panel.
Afterwards, Avon & Somerset Police head of professional standards department Det Supt Larisa Hunt said: “PC Wood’s behaviour fell far short of the standards we demand of all our officers and staff.
“He continued to persistently contact a woman who had clearly rejected his advances and I don’t underestimate how significant the psychological impact of this will have been to her.
“PC Wood also deceived his colleagues with his make-believe story and has shown a complete disregard for the responsibilities that come along with being a police officer.”