An ex-Met Police detective stole crisps and cash from a colleague’s locker at Bromley Police Station, a misconduct panel found.
Former detective constable James Quigley was found to have committed gross misconduct following the incident.
He stole two packets of Walkers crisps and a weapons tube containing about £20 to £30 in loose change and pin badges from a fellow officer’s locker in February 2024.
On August 19 this year, Commander Katie Lilburn concluded that Quigley would have been dismissed had he not already retired on July 31 this year.
The misconduct hearing heard that the officer returned to the locker room at Bromley Police Station on February 19, 2024, and saw a man standing in front of his locker before walking away.
READ MORE: Locked up: Prison escapee & paedo martial arts guru among south Londoners jailed
He later discovered two packets of crisps and a weapons tube containing money and badges were missing.
According to the panel, the officer later identified Quigley as the man he had seen.
Officers subsequently found him with a green Waitrose bag containing packets or ready salted and cheese and onion Walkers, matching those reported stolen.
Quigley denied the theft allegation, insisting the crisps found in his possession were his own and noted that the missing cash, badges and weapons tube were never recovered despite extensive searches.
But the misconduct panel found a “compelling circumstantial case” against the former officer and concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that he had stolen the items.
It also noted evidence that he appeared “sweating”, “flushed” and “looking panicked” when spoken to by colleagues after the allegation was raised.
In a victim impact statement cited by the panel, the officer said: “I am angry that my locker has been opened, and my personal property has been stolen from it.
"But I am sad that in a Police Station, personal property has been stolen by a serving officer.
"I believed that I could trust my fellow colleagues within a police station, and now that trust has been broken.”
The panel found the theft represented a serious breach of honesty and integrity, adding that it had the potential to undermine public confidence in policing.
It concluded the conduct amounted to gross misconduct and that dismissal without notice would have been the appropriate sanction had Quigley still been serving.
READ MORE:
- Erith woman, 59, cheated benefits system by failing to declare she was student
- Bexley coach driver who raped schoolgirls as young as 12 got 'lenient' sentence
The hearing also found he wrongly retained two Metropolitan Police public order batons at his home for personal martial arts training.
That allegation amounted to misconduct, but not gross misconduct, the panel said.
The panel ordered that Quigley be placed on the College of Policing barred list.
Share