Northumbria Police officer dismissed for 'motor-boating' woman in a club

A Northumbria police officer has been dismissed without notice after "motorboating" a woman while dancing at a nightclub.

PC James Pentland was accused by a woman, known as Ms A, of touching and rubbing his face into her breasts and breast area during a night out in Newcastle.

Pentland denied the accusation, claiming he had held up his hands in front of her and moved them in a "jazzing type manner".

Following a misconduct hearing, a panel found that the officer did carry out the act, which is commonly known as "motor-boating".

They also found he had inappropriately placed the woman's arm up her back, after she slapped him around the face.

A report released, following the disciplinary hearing, reveals how the incidents took place at a nightclub in Newcastle on 15 September, 2021.

The officer and Ms A had both gone for an evening out with friends. They had met in a bar earlier in the evening and, after drinking at various venues, the two groups met up again in the nightclub. The hearing was told how PC Pentland had been dancing close to Ms A on the "packed dancefloor" in the club. However, there was a "stark disagreement" between them as to what happened on the dancefloor.

The officer claimed that Ms A had been dancing very close to him and others and was flirting with him and others.

He claimed that she had whispered things of a sexual nature in his ear.

However, Ms A said she was dancing with various people including the officer, was not flirting and did not say anything of that nature to him.

The misconduct hearing was told how Ms A took her shirt off and waved it above her head when the song 'Countryroad' was played. She was wearing a black Calvin Klein sports bra.

The officer claimed that someone to his left made a comment about Ms A’s breasts. He said, after the comment was made, he stepped towards Ms A and held up his hands in front of her.

He said he moved them in a jazzing type manner and mimicked touching her breasts. In interview, he said he was trying to be funny in front of the group.

PC Pentland said Ms A then slapped him hard and he took hold of her wrist and placed her arm up her back to stop her slapping him again.

The officer said this was a continuation of her flirtatious behaviour and they continued to dance together.

Ms A made a number of allegations of unwanted and inappropriate behaviour by the officer during their time on the dancefloor.

She claimed he did not cease his behaviour, even when she slapped him around the face.

She claimed the officer did approach her but he grabbed hold of her breasts and put his face between them, an action referred to as 'motorboating'.

She said she immediately slapped him hard and did not say anything to him. She claimed he then took hold of her arm behind his back and took hold of her throat.

Ms A said she did not mention the event to anyone at the time. She said she later told her boyfriend about the motorboating incident and talked to her parents about it. This led to her boyfriend sending texts about it and eventually to the involvement of the police.

The hearing was presented evidence which included text messages regarding the event. A friend of Mr Pentland asked him: "Did you motorboat my mate's lass last night?". He replied, "Excuse me hahaha".

He then sent a text saying "My mate's been texting me going mental about you motorboating his lass I am assuming she’s told him that you have". He replied "Ahaha I don’t recall motorboating anyone".

Ms A also complained that the officer touched her bottom, however she was unsure about the exact sequence of events.

The report said: "She accepts that she is unsure of the order of events but is adamant that they occurred particularly the allegation of motorboating."

There were no other witnesses to the incident and CCTV did not clearly capture the events.

Following the misconduct hearing, which took place between 29 November and 1 December last year, the panel found that the allegations that the officer had touched Ms A's bottom and her throat were unproven.

They said they had considered all the factors and accepted Ms A's evidence that motorboating occurred.

The report said: "Ms A was generally a credible witness. Motorboating is a very specific act. Ms A has no reason to lie about this specific act occurring. It is unlikely to be something which someone would raise if it had not occurred.

"She mentioned motorboating at an early stage to her ex-boyfriend. She has been consistent about it. She slapped the officer hard. The panel does not accept the officer's account that Ms A made comments to him about wanting to sleep with him or liked it to be rough."

The panel said the officer's action of placing of Ms A's arm up her back was "inappropriate" and he should have taken alternative action rather than physically taking hold of her e.g. stepping away.

They said: "This conduct is clearly a breach of the standards of professional behaviour of Discreditable conduct."

The panel said: "Ms A described the officer’s actions as unwarranted, unprofessional, inappropriate and very disrespectful. She felt violated.

"The officer did not intend to cause her any harm but he could reasonably have foreseen the harm caused to Ms A.

"The officer’s conduct was not malicious and was not sexually motivated. He intended it as a joke. It was not a planned action but was a spontaneous one. He carried out an act for his amusement and that of others at the expense of Ms A."

The panel concluded the officer’s conduct will have undermined public confidence in policing, and that a police officer acting in this manner will have damaged the public's general view of the force.

The report said: "There is currently significant national and local public concern about the attitude of police officers to women. There have been many reported cases about officers' abuse of women.

"This particular case is different in nature to some of the most high profile cases but it only serves to perpetuate the general public perception about the inappropriate views and actions of police officers."

The panel said the officer had shown a lack of understanding about the appropriateness of his actions. They said: "His conduct was unacceptable on the basis of his own admissions but he did not personally consider that it was inappropriate."

The panel decided that the officer's conduct was gross misconduct and the only appropriate outcome was dismissal without notice.

The officer’s name will be sent to the College of Policing for inclusion on the police barred list.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...