'Passive aggressive' GMP officer sacked after 'abusive' Manchester Victoria train fare row

A senior Greater Manchester Police officer has been sacked from the force after she became 'embroiled in a dispute' with railway station staff over an unpaid train ticket at Manchester Victoria.

Detective Sergeant Kathryn Lester, an experienced and commended officer, was said to have behaved in an 'abusive, disrespectful and inappropriate manner' during a 'prolonged interaction' with revenue protection officers, a judgement after a misconduct hearing last month reveals. She was also said to have then given a false name, a false address and a false date of birth.

The judgement says her conduct - peppered with foul and abusive language - amounted to 'an attempted abuse of her position as a police officer in falsely asserting an entitlement to travel under concessionary arrangements'.

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GMP's chief of police ruled she was 'passive aggressive, abusive and unpleasant'. The accelerated misconduct hearing was held at GMP headquarters on October 31, with the judgement of the Chief Constable, Stephen Watson, now published on the force's website.

In it, Chief Constable Watson said he found alleged breaches of the standards of professional behaviour for a police officer - namely honesty and integrity, discreditable conduct and authority, respect and courtesy - had been proven and amounted to gross misconduct. Det Sgt Lester was legally represented at the hearing.

In the judgement, Chief Constable Watson said the 'principal objective in the conduct of these hearings must be to preserve public confidence in the police service'. He said he found Det Sgt Lester's actions were deliberate and that she must have known her conduct, if ever discovered, would 'carry serious consequences'.

The detective used foul and abusive language and assertations 'which were clearly designed to humiliate and antagonise'.

The judgement said she also made 'repeated statements as to her entitlement to travel as a police officer which were entirely untrue'. Chief Constable Watson ruled they were 'calculated to deceive'. He added: "Ultimately, such conduct resulted in the unforced provision of false details to a person seeking to perform his lawful duties. Taken together, these elements represent the clearest breach of that which the public have the right to expect of a professional and well conducted police officer."

Chief Constable Watson said the facts 'substantially diminish public confidence' and the 'level of seriousness' in the case was 'high'.

He said he recognised she was 'experiencing difficult and stressful personal circumstances' at the time, but said that didn't provide sufficient mitigation. The judgement said the hearing was told representations on her behalf said she was in a 'highly-sensitised psychological state' at the time.

But Chief Constable Watson said in the ruling: "DS Lester's conduct in this matter clearly falls far below the behaviours and standards that the public have every right to expect. Simply put, DS Lester has misconducted herself to the extent that her retention in the force is simply incompatible with my overarching concern, which is to sustain the confidence of the public in the police."

He said her conduct had brought the force into 'disrepute' and damages public trust in policing.

The judgement described Det Sgt Lester as an experienced officer with no previous misconduct recorded against her. She's also been the subject of 'recognition for commendable work'.

But Chief Constable Watson ruled she should be dismissed 'with immediate' effect and her name be added to the Royal College of Policing's 'Barred List', meaning she can no longer serve in a police force again.