Officer who took on paid jobs without permission committed gross misconduct
A student officer who took on other paid jobs without permission has been found to have committed gross misconduct.
PC Louis Cosway, a student officer based in Bristol, was dismissed and will now be placed on a national barred list preventing him working in policing or other law enforcement agencies again, following the outcome of a misconduct hearing on Monday (9 June).
The hearing, led by misconduct panel chairman Craig Holden, heard how PC Cosway was suspended for unconnected matters in November 2023. This suspension was lifted in April 2024 and he was placed on restricted duties following which he went onto long-term sick leave.
He submitted a business interest application to work as a football referee in December 2023, but this was declined by the Professional Standards Department (PSD) the following month.
Then in August, information was received about PC Cosway working cash in hand as a referee in Shirehampton. Further information came to light about the officer also working at a bar in Newport. Both these allegations were looked into and verified.
The PSD investigation found he’d refereed at seven games between December 2023 and February 2024, and he’d completed 13 shifts at the bar up until December 2024, all of which he received payment for.
Det Supt Larisa Hunt, head of PSD, said: “PC Cosway carried out paid employment as a referee and a bar worker, without obtaining the necessary permission, as he’s required to do under the Police Regulations 2003.
“He submitted a business interest application for the referee role, which was declined, and didn’t submit any application at all for the bar role.
“His actions were deliberate and the work he carried out was either undertaken when he was under suspension or when he was on long-term sick leave.
“This is completely unacceptable behaviour and a clear breach of the standards of professional behaviour for which he’s now been dismissed from his role and barred from policing for life.”
The full hearing outcome will be added to the misconduct section of our website when it’s ready.