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Avon and Somerset police chief asked to resign Police chief asked to resign despite being cleared of gross misconduct
(about 2 hours later)
Nick Gargan has been asked to resign as chief constable of Avon and Somerset police, plunging one of Britain’s largest forces into chaos. A police chief cleared of making inappropriate advances to women has been told to resign anyway, after his boss accused him of abusing his authority and losing the confidence of his staff and the public.
The demand was made by his police and crime commissioner, Sue Mountstevens. She said Gargan had to go “due to a lack of confidence by local people, police officers and staff in his position as leader of Avon and Somerset Constabulary”. An extraordinary showdown erupted between Nick Gargan, chief constable of Avon and Somerset police, and the force’s police and crime commissioner, Sue Mountstevens, who began the legal process to demand his resignation or retirement.
Gargan, who was suspended for 18 months for misconduct, was due to find out on Wednesday afternoon if he is to return to work amid growing calls for him to go. Gargan was suspended in May 2014 over allegations of gross misconduct, of which he was cleared in July. But he was found guilty of eight misconduct counts, including sharing information that he should not have, a panel ruled. This included sending, receiving and storing intimate images on his police phone.
Nick Gargan, the £175,000-a-year chief of Avon and Somerset police, was cleared of the most serious allegations in July but found guilty by a panel of eight of misconduct charges. Gargan had intended to return to work, but on Wednesday Mounstevens invoked the 2011 Police Act introduced by the last coalition government to demand he leave his £175,000-a-year job.
Three former chief constables of Avon and Somerset have said Gargan should go, while more than 1,200 people have signed an online petition calling for his resignation. The local branch of Police Federation has also voiced criticism. Gargan, who was suspended for 18 months while he was investigated, was due to find out on Wednesday afternoon whether he would return to work amid growing calls for him to go.
Related: Suspended chief constable found guilty of eight misconduct chargesRelated: Suspended chief constable found guilty of eight misconduct charges
After Gargan was cleared of the most serious charges in July – that he was a sex pest – his suspension was lifted and he was scheduled to start a phased return to work. Some of the misconduct charges he was found guilty of relate to data sharing, details are yet to be made public. Three former chief constables of Avon and Somerset have said Gargan should go, more than 1,200 people have signed an online petition calling for his resignation, and the local police federation and Superintendents’ Association had also lost confidence in him.
Gargan was suspended on full pay and since July has been on “gardening leave”. Wednesday’s sanctions hearing could back his return to work, issue final warnings, or lead to his departure. On Wednesday, after a meeting with Gargan and their respective lawyers, Mountstevens announced her decision, wwhich looks to end the career of a man once thought capable of reaching the utmost heights of British policing.
Because he was cleared of the gross misconduct charges the police and crime commissioner cannot dismiss him. Gargan, if he was minded to resign, would face a significant financial penalty because he has 27 years as a police officer, three years short of the 30 years needed to receive his full pension. Gargan is the second chief constable Mountstevens has clashed with. Colin Port quit after she said he would have to reapply for his job. She then handpicked Gargan in 2013 to be chief.
Even his critics tell the Guardian the misconduct he has been found guilty of is relatively minor. But his future is far from clear because of the negative reaction to the announcement last month that he would return to work. The chaos now surrounding one of Britain’s biggest police forces calls into question Mountstevens’s judgment. Gargan’s is already widely under scrutiny from others in policing and has been found to be wanting.
The three former chief constables of Avon and Somerset in their public intervention said leaders should be “inspiring, not an embarrassment”. In her statement, Mountstevens said Gargan was being required to resign or retire “due to a lack of confidence by local people, police officers and staff in his position as leader of Avon and Somerset constabulary”.
Mounstevens said: “Chief constable Nick Gargan has let down the colleagues he led and the communities he was there to protect. He abused his position by forwarding confidential emails, interfering with a proper recruitment process and sending, receiving and storing intimate images on his police-issue phone.
“As the chief constable, Nick Gargan should have led by example and demonstrated the highest levels of integrity, values and professional behaviour. Instead he has shown flawed judgment and been found guilty of eight counts of misconduct, including two of discreditable conduct.
“From what I have seen and heard, he has lost the confidence of local people, police officers and staff … I believe that there is now a detrimental impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of him leading Avon and Somerset constabulary, which is why I have today initiated the process to require him to resign.
Related: Police chief quits after commissioner asked him to apply for his job
“This is a separate process from the misconduct procedure and I will be writing to Her Majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Thomas Winsor, to seek his views.”
Gargan’s fate was plunged into doubt when three former chief constables of Avon and Somerset in their public intervention said leaders should be “inspiring, not an embarrassment”.
Gargan, 48, is seen as one of the more able chief constables and was the national lead for policing on finance issues, crucial at a time of budget cuts. He was touted as a possible candidate to be commissioner of the Metropolitan police.Gargan, 48, is seen as one of the more able chief constables and was the national lead for policing on finance issues, crucial at a time of budget cuts. He was touted as a possible candidate to be commissioner of the Metropolitan police.
Gargan took over the Avon and Somerset force in March 2013 from Colin Port, who left after being told by Mountstevens, then newly elected as the as crime commissioner, that he would have to reapply for his job. Gargan took over the Avon and Somerset force in March 2013 from Port, who left after being told by Mountstevens, then newly elected as the as crime commissioner, that he would have to reapply for his job.
Gargan was suspended in May 2014 over serious allegations emanating from two whistleblowers. Gargan was suspended in May 2014 over serious allegations emanating from two whistleblowers. The IPCC investigated, with Gargan cleared of the most serious claims of “inappropriate advances towards female colleagues”.
The IPCC investigated, with Gargan cleared of the most serious claims of “inappropriate advances towards female colleagues”. In a statement on Gargan’s behalf, issued by the Chief Police Officers Staff Association, said the news was a “a huge disappointment” for the chief constable.
On the day he was suspended Gargan, unaware of what was to come, was tweeting jokes saying he was not as busy as usual. It said: “He has complied with every requirement of the protracted misconduct investigation and subsequent hearing. He placed his fate in the hands of an expert professional panel, which made a clear recommendation that he should go back to work.”
He wrote: “Stand by for a Tommy Cooper classic to celebrate a day with a rare few gaps on the diary … ” The statement on Gargan’s behalf added: “The overwhelming majority of the rumours surrounding the chief constable have turned out not to be true; indeed none of the initial allegations that prompted his suspension led to a misconduct finding, let alone a finding of gross misconduct or criminal behaviour.”
Mounstevens invoked section 38 of the 2011 Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, which says: “The police and crime commissioner for a police area may call upon the chief constable of the police force for that area to resign or retire.”
It adds: “The chief constable must retire or resign if called upon to do so by the relevant police and crime commissioner in accordance with subsection (3).”
That subsection lays out a series of procedural steps that must be followed. Mountstevens will have to provide reasons in writing for wanting Gargan gone, and he said he would wait to see them.
If he resigned, Gargan would face a significant financial penalty because after 27 years as a police officer he is three years short of the 30 needed to receive his full pension.
On the day he was suspended Gargan was tweeting jokes, saying he was not as busy as usual. He wrote: “Stand by for a Tommy Cooper classic to celebrate a day with a rare few gaps on the diary…”
Two minutes later he tweeted: “Police arrested 2 kids yesterday: one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. They charged one & let the other off.”Two minutes later he tweeted: “Police arrested 2 kids yesterday: one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. They charged one & let the other off.”
In July, Gargan said in a statement: “I accept the findings of the panel and apologise that my actions have fallen below the standards expected of a chief constable. I am pleased that the more serious gross misconduct allegations were found not to be proven including any allegation of inappropriate advances towards female colleagues. I am relieved and very pleased that my suspension is at an end. Following the decision to force him out, Gargan has been suspended. Acting chief constable John Long will continue but will retire at the end of August. Mountstevens then said deputy chief constable Gareth Morgan will take over on a temporary basis.
“I await the panel chair’s report and my meeting with the police and crime commissioner, and will have no further comment to make until then.”