A Sussex Police officer who lied about causing damage to a police car would have been sacked if hadn’t already resigned, the force said today (Monday 13 April).
Jacob Vaughan was based in Brighton and damaged the car on police premises in the town but it was the cover up that has ended his policing career.
Sussex Police said: “Gross misconduct has been proven against a former Sussex Police officer who lied about damage to a police car.
“Ex-PC Jacob Vaughan was alleged to have damaged a police car he was driving while on police premises but failed to report it.
“When challenged by his line manager, he claimed he was unaware there was any damage to the vehicle and that another police officer had confirmed this was the case.
“CCTV and other inquiries proved both of these claims to be false.
“Ex-PC Vaughan was also found to have altered the vehicle’s logbook to make it seem as though the damage had occurred several weeks before the incident.
“An accelerated misconduct hearing was held on Monday 30 March in which breaches of the professional standards were proven, namely honesty and integrity and orders and instructions. They amounted to gross misconduct.
“The hearing concluded ex-PC Vaughan would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.
“He was also placed on the College of Policing barred list, stopping him from serving in policing in future.
“Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme said: “Honesty and integrity are central to a police officer’s duty and it is right that breaches of these standards are treated seriously.
“This former officer’s attempts to avoid accountability have compounded what could have been a relatively minor error and dealt with by reflective practice, instead resulting in the loss of his policing career.
“The public deserve to trust that their police officers are behaving honestly and we will continue to root out those who do not meet that expectation.”
