Former Wilts PC guilty of gross misconduct for faking medical letter
Former Wilts PC guilty of gross misconduct for faking medical letter
A former officer who faked a medical letter from a surgeon to get time off work - has been found guilty of gross misconduct at an accelerated hearing.
Chloe Stokes quit Wiltshire Police just days before a panel ruled she’d breached standards around honesty and integrity.
She’s now banned from working in policing in future after being added to the national barred list.
The hearing was held at Wiltshire Police Headquarters on 10th July and was chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith.
The panel considered three allegations relating to former PC Chloe Stokes, who resigned two days before the hearing took place. These related to a letter purporting to be from a consultant surgeon, that former PC Stokes had in fact created herself, which she then submitted to her line manager with the intention that it would be accepted as being genuine and the content acted on accordingly to assist with temporary workplace restrictions.
All three allegations were upheld and it was determined that former PC Stokes’ actions were in breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour for police officers in relation to honesty and integrity, and discreditable conduct.
As a result, it was determined that had she not previously resigned from the Force, she would have been dismissed without notice. She will also be placed on the national barred list which means she will not be able to work in policing in the future.*
Detective Chief Constable Mark Cooper said: “Our communities rightly expect nothing but the highest standards of professional behaviour from all our officers and staff.
“We continue to encourage and enable all members of our organisation to report concerns they have regarding a colleague’s behaviour and we won’t hesitate to investigate without fear or favour.”
In line with the Police Conduct regulations 2020, she has a period of 10 working days to appeal the outcome.