A Sussex Police officer has been dismissed after she sexually assaulted two colleagues by inappropriately touching them and made sexual comments to them while off duty.
Olivia Clinton, 30, a PC based in East Sussex, was the subject of a misconduct hearing held at Sussex Police headquarters yesterday (Wednesday 23 April).
The hearing was told that the officer sexually touched a male and a female colleague in two different pubs on a drunken night out in Eastbourne on Thursday 4 January last year.
She also made inappropriate sexual comments towards her colleagues.
Sussex Police suspended her from duty while an investigation was carried out.
The force said: “It was determined that while the alleged conduct did not meet the threshold for criminal proceedings, the officer’s behaviour would be subject of a disciplinary hearing.
“She resigned from the force in February this year.”
A panel chaired by Surrey Police Assistant Chief Constable Peter Gardner found that her behaviour was a breach of the standards of professional behaviour.
It amounted to discreditable conduct and breached the rules governing authority, respect and courtesy, amounting to gross misconduct.
The officer admitted the breaches and will now be added to the College of Policing “barred list” which will prevent her from returning to policing.
Before she became a police officer in 2022, she served as a police community support officer in the Rural Crime Team, having become a PCSO in 2019.
Her disciplinary panel was told that her drunken behaviour was an isolated incident in an otherwise unblemished career.
Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme, the deputy head of force professional standards, said: “The officer’s actions were unwanted and invasive.
“This was extremely concerning because police officers and staff must behave in a manner that does not discredit the police service or undermine public confidence, whether on or off duty.
“All staff are aware of the standards of professional behaviour and the force remains committed to holding officers to account where they fall below the high standards the public rightly expect.”
