Sleazy cop exposed genitals and asked female colleagues for sex

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A sleazy cop exposed his genitals to a colleague and asked another to have sex with him, a misconduct hearing has found.

Shamed PC Darren Whatley "acted in a predatory manner" and caused "emotional harm to colleagues." The former South Wales Police officer would have been dismissed by the force had he not retired, after committing "gross misconduct." He has also been barred from police work.

Whatley who also told a third woman he would "gas" her, while on duty, never attended the hearing held in Bridgend on December 10 and 11. In the hearing it was alleged that Whatley engaged in inappropriate conduct towards three colleagues. The three women have been granted anonymity and were described as Ms A, Ms B and Ms C, Wales Online reports.

It was heard that on one occasion Whatley and Ms B were discussing his car. Whatley offered to take her for a drive in it, which she accepted. While on the journey, both were discussing some of the features of the vehicle to which Whatley replied in a sexually suggestive way.

He remarked how the pair could "have sex in the back" of the car if she wanted and that he had been watching her for some time and found her attractive. The court heard how the experience made her feel uncomfortable and she asked Whatley to take her back to the office which he eventually did. After the incident Ms B "had to be short" with Whatley and tell him she was not interested in his advances.

Later, while back at the office, the hearing heard Whatley passed her a note with his number on and told her to "think about it". Ms B blocked Whatley from contacting her and told Ms C about the incident. In an interview Whatley admitted giving Ms B his telephone number and contacting her and that he found her attractive, but denied that he asked her to have sex in the vehicle.

The hearing was also told that in a separate incident, Whatley exposed his penis and buttocks to Ms A. It was alleged that as part of a conversation about waxing, Whatley recommended a beautician to Ms A who Whatley had used himself. In the run up to the appointment it was heard how Whatley asked Ms A what treatment she was having done and during the incident exposed himself and asked her "what she thought".

In an interview Whatley denied the allegations and said that he instead showed Ms A his stomach. Soon after the incident Ms A told another colleague what had happened, telling her "Darren has just showed me his c**k". Another colleague not concerned in the hearing said they had a similar experience with Mr Whatley exposing himself to her, but she did not want to take the issue further.

In another incident, a woman known as Ms C alleged that Whatley was contacting another female colleague out of work hours and asking her why she was not responding to his texts. Ms C said she overheard the conversation and told him that the woman "did not have to respond" to his messages.

A few days later, Ms C and the same woman were discussing her applying for a job in a prison which would allow her to work closer to home, something Ms C was encouraging. The hearing heard Whatley, who was also in the room during the conversation, "became very angry" and told Ms C, "why don't you just shut the f**k up" and "shut the f**k up or I'll gas you". The hearing was told it is understood this was because he had a personal interest in the woman.

Giving evidence, Ms C said the comments were not said in jest and she perceived them as a "very real threat". Whatley again admitted part of the allegation, specifically that he could possibly have told her to "shut the f**k up" but denied the latter.

The panel, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Jason Davies of South Wales Police, found all allegations against Whately proven. They found that the allegations relating to Whatley exposing his genitals to Ms A, asking Ms B to have sex in his car and his abusive language to Ms C amounted to gross misconduct. They found that the allegation relating to persistently messaging the fourth colleague, which Ms C told him to stop, was not sufficient in its own right to amount to gross misconduct but compounded by other allegations did so.

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Delivering the panel's outcome, Assistant Chief Constable Davies said that Whatley "targeted" colleagues and "acted in a predatory manner". He said that Whatley exhibited "predatory behaviour towards colleagues" and caused "emotional harm" to Ms A, B and C.

He told the panel that Whatley's actions had affected Ms A in that it caused an "increase in her stress levels" which in turn exacerbated a health condition and forced her to miss work. The panel heard Ms B was "scared" of Whatley, and that she described the car journey as "feeling like a lifetime" as he ignored her requests to return to the office. The panel said that Ms C found Whatley "very aggressive".

Whatley did not engage in the hearing, with the panel saying he was "abusive" when served a Regulation 17 Notice informing him of proceedings. The panel relied on a police interview given by Whatley when he was criminally prosecuted and subsequently acquitted at trial for allegedly exposing himself to Ms A to seek any mitigating factors but said they did not find any.

The panel found Whatley caused "reputational harm to the police service" and exhibited "predatory behaviour towards colleagues".

Whatley previously received an award from the Royal Humane Society in 2012 after he, alongside another officer, revived a prisoner after she stopped breathing five times in the back of a police van.

Chief Superintendent Mark Lenihan, head of Professional Standards, said: “The unacceptable behaviour of former officer Darren Whatley has no place in policing. It damages and undermines the trust and confidence that our communities place in the service."

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