Senior Avon and Somerset Police officer sacked for punching two women

A senior police officer with a distinguished career tackling violence against women has been sacked for assaulting two women while off duty.

The incident took place while Inspector Tola Munro was serving as a neighbourhood officer in south Bristol in May 2023.

Due to the serious nature of the allegations, Avon and Somerset Police referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

A panel, chaired by a Legally Qualified Chair who is independent of policing, ruled that Inspector Tola Munro’s actions amounted to gross misconduct.

As well as being dismissed without notice, he will also be added to the barred list to prevent him from serving as a police officer again.

The panel ruled that Inspector Munro had breached two standards of professional behaviour, in relation to discreditable conduct, as well as authority, respect and courtesy.

He was suspended while the criminal and misconduct investigations were carried out. Munro denies the allegations and says he was acting in self defence.

Gwent Police carried out a criminal investigation into the incident, culminating in the case being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, which deemed there was insufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of a successful prosecution.

Superintendent Mark Edgington, head of PSD, said: “The burden of proof required for a criminal prosecution and misconduct to be proven is different.

"The panel reached its decision that Inspector Munro assaulted the two women on the balance of probabilities having heard the evidence presented to them.

"A criminal conviction requires allegations to be proved beyond all reasonable doubt, and the difference between those levels is significant.

“Ultimately, there is no place in policing for an officer who is found to have assaulted any member of the public.

"Whether on or off-duty, officers and staff must adhere to the standards expected of anyone serving in policing and Inspector Munro failed to do this.

“As an organisation we have carried out a huge amount of work in recent years around the topic of violence against women and girls.

"Inspector Munro’s actions have undermined those efforts and will likely damage public confidence in policing.

“We hope the public can see from the actions we have taken that these allegations have been taken seriously from the moment we learned of them.

“The public’s trust in policing is dependent on rooting out any officer, no matter their rank or experience, who should not be serving the public.

"We hope the robust action taken in this case highlights that commitment.”