Lincolnshire police inspector dismissed after paying vulnerable person's drug debt
Andrew Price was found guilty of gross misconduct and dismissed without notice
A Lincolnshire Police inspector has been dismissed after developing an inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable person.
An accelerated misconduct hearing on Wednesday 5 August found Inspector Andrew Price had breached the standards of professional behaviour expected of police officers.
The hearing was told Price pleaded guilty at Nottingham Magistrates' Court in May to possessing Pava spray, a police-issued incapacitant, after it was found in the boot of his car.
Police officers must store it securely at a police station when it's not being carried.
The panel also found he failed to maintain professional boundaries with a vulnerable member of the public after first meeting them through his police duties.
It heard he bought the person food and shopping, went to a quiz with them, paid off one of their drug debts and advised them not to report a crime to police. He also failed to report the crime himself.
Chief Constable Paul Gibson, who chaired the hearing, found the breaches amounted to gross misconduct.
Inspector Price was dismissed without notice.