Police officer dismissed after taking home vulnerable man's bicycle 'for personal use'

A PSNI officer has been dismissed for "gross misconduct" after taking home a bicycle that belonged to a vulnerable man.

The case was investigated by the Police Ombudsman.

Mrs Marie Anderson said the officer “had taken advantage of the man’s vulnerabilities and seized an opportunity to take the bike for his personal use”.

The investigation found that the officer had been working a night shift when he took the bicycle from storage at the local police station, placed it in his car and took it home.

Several months earlier, the same officer had spoken to the bike’s owner after receiving a report of concern for his safety.

The officer had already retrieved the bike - believed to be worth around £500 - from a local park, where it was reported to have been abandoned.

"The man said he had fallen off the bike and thrown it away in anger. He was intoxicated at the time and was known by police to be vulnerable, but was able to provide the make, model and colour of the bike," the Ombudsman's Office said.

"Despite this, the officer refused to return the bike unless the man came to the police station when sober with proof of purchase.

"The man never called back and there was no record that the officer made any further attempts to contact him or to establish the bike’s ownership.

"The bike was eventually returned to its owner after being found at the officer’s home during a police search organised after a sergeant raised concerns in March 2021.

"Unfortunately, the owner died a few weeks later, but not before having made a complaint about the officer who had taken it."

The Ombudsman's Office said, when subsequently interviewed by investigators, the officer said that as the man had been unable to describe the bike’s suspension or brakes he had not been satisfied that it belonged to him.

"He also claimed to be unaware of police procedures for lost and found property, and said he had been told by a sergeant to leave the bike in the police station for a few months, and then either dispose of it or take it," they explained.

"He said there had been two sergeants in the room when one stated: “if you don’t take it, I’ll take it home”.

"However, the Police Ombudsman found the officer’s account to be neither reliable nor credible.

"She noted that he made no record in his notebook or on police systems of having taken it home, and that there was no other evidence that either sergeant had advised that he could do that."

The ombudsman also said the officer "was likely to have known the man would be unable to provide proof of ownership, and noted that the officer already owned a bike of the same make and would have known its value".

After completing their investigation, Police Ombudsman investigators submitted a file to the PPS, which subsequently directed that the officer should not be prosecuted for theft as the evidential test had not been met.

"This was due to a number of factors, including that the bike’s owner had died and had not provided a statement before his death, and because the bike could no longer be located," the Ombudsman's Office said.

"The Police Ombudsman then submitted a misconduct file to the PSNI’s Professional Standards Department recommending that a misconduct hearing be held to consider the officer’s conduct.

"She noted that his attempt to place blame on colleagues was an aggravating factor.

"The recommendation was accepted by the PSNI, and the officer was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct. 

"The PPS also directed that neither sergeant should be prosecuted for aiding and abetting theft.

"However, the PSNI accepted a Police Ombudsman recommendation that steps should be taken to improve the performance of one of the sergeants who had failed to provide clear instructions about what should be done with the bike.

"It also accepted a recommendation that all police officers in the relevant district should be reminded of their obligations in relation to lost and found property, in particular bicycles."

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