PSNI: Ex-officer loses appeal over dismissal amid abuse claims

A former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer has lost a High Court challenge to being dismissed over allegations of raping and physically attacking an ex-partner.

The officer took legal action after an appeals tribunal upheld the decision to dismiss him for gross misconduct.

A judge has now rejected all grounds of challenge in the case.

In 2021 the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decided not to charge the officer with any criminal offences.

However, he was dismissed from the police in 2022 following separate PSNI misconduct proceedings.

'No reasonable prospect of success'

Appealing the dismissal, the officer attempted to discredit the complainant by referring to text messages she sent on the day of the alleged rape as showing they were still a couple.

However, the Police Appeals Tribunal (PAT) threw out his challenge on the grounds that it had no reasonable prospect of success.

High Court proceedings were issued in an attempt to judicially review the decisions reached by both the PSNI and PAT.

Mr Justice Humphreys ruled that the chair of the tribunal properly dealt with all grounds of appeal and the credibility of essential witnesses.

"It cannot be said that the decision on this issue was one which no reasonable decision maker could have arrived at," he said.

"None of the grounds of judicial review have been made out and the application is therefore dismissed."

PSNI investigation

The PSNI launched its investigation after allegations from the officer's former partner regarding four separate incidents between 2018 and 2020.

The officer denied the allegations, claiming to have acted in self-defence and that all sexual contact was consensual.

His lawyers also sought reports from social services on the complainant in an effort to highlight complaints about her alleged aggression towards him.