Gross misconduct hearing - September 18
In accordance with Regulation 36 of the Police Conduct Regulations we are required to publish the following information –
An Accelerated Gross Misconduct disciplinary hearing, chaired by Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet, will be held by Northamptonshire Police at Force Headquarters on Friday, September 18, 2026.
The officer has been granted anonymity
It is alleged that the officer concerned:
Breached the standards of professional behaviour when on February 13, 2026 they were stopped by police officers whilst driving, asked to conduct a roadside breathalyser test and returned a reading of 79 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the legal limit of 35 micrograms. The Officer was arrested on suspicion of driving over the prescribed limit for alcohol. On arrest the Officer told officers they had left their partners address and driven to where they had been stopped as they feared for their safety because their partner had been verbally abusive and assaulted them.
On March 31, 2026 the Officer pleaded guilty to the offence of driving a motor vehicle over the prescribed limit of alcohol and subsequently made a special reasons argument whereby the District Judge was satisfied that there was a genuine emergency and the Officer had no other option than to drive.
As a result of that finding, no driving disqualification was imposed, however, the Officer was ordered to pay a fine of £300, costs of £85 and a statutory surcharge of £120.
It is alleged the Officer concerned breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to:
- Discreditable conduct
The conduct amounts to gross misconduct for the following reasons:
- The Officer committed a serious criminal offence of driving over the prescribed limit for alcohol, which was admitted by guilty plea entered at a Magistrates’ Court hearing.
- It was not necessary for the officer to continue to drive circa 13 miles whilst over the prescribed limit once they had left the immediate vicinity of their partner’s address.
The hearing will take place in public and a virtual link will be made available to support public attendance.
Please note that if a request for attendance is received on the day of the hearing, there may be a delay in attendance being processed.
Members of the public, wishing to attend, must register by emailing [email protected] .
The following details MUST be provided: full name, date of birth, gender and address. Attendance will be given on a first come first serve basis.
The first 12 people emailing the Force will receive an email confirmation of the virtual link and the expectation that identification will be provided on joining.
If you are unsuccessful, you will not receive a response.
Home Office Guidance; Police Officer Misconduct Procedures 2015, states:
- Members of the public attending are expected to do so at their own expense.
- The person chairing the Hearing may impose conditions
- The Chair may exclude from the hearing any person whose behaviour, in their opinion, is likely to disrupt the orderly conduct of proceedings
Any members of the media wanting to attend must notify the Corporate Communications Team at Northamptonshire Police, in advance, by emailing [email protected]
Places for the media are limited so seats will be allocated on a first come-first serve basis
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Members of the public must register and produce valid identification
- Media (and public) must not report on the evidence until all evidence has been given
- Restrictions on reporting – taking photographs and the use of sound or film recording equipment during the hearing will be prohibited
- The use of live, text based communications for purposes of simultaneous reporting of proceedings will be prohibited.
- Third parties and witness reporting. Those at the hearing should not report names of third parties and witnesses not present at the hearing itself.
- The public will be required to sign a declaration agreeing to the above restrictions.
Members of the press must be present by 9.45am