The United Kingdom police have dismissed a Nigerian-born officer identified as Shola Balogun for allegedly biting a colleague.
During a hearing between October 21 – 23, the panel held
that Balogun was “significantly under the influence of alcohol” when the
incident happened on April 22, 2022.
According to court document, both officers attended a
colleague’s 40th birthday party in Bexleyheath, Kent, and had a good working
relationship at their Bromley police station base since June 2018.
The unnamed assaulted officer, tagged as PC in the document,
said he walked up a flight of stairs from the dance floor and found Balogun in
front of him.
“PC Balogun was about
an arms-length away when he reached out and grabbed PC spectacles off his face
and dropped them on the floor,” the panel heard.
“This surprised PC and he claimed to have then approached PC
Balogun in a friendly manner whereupon PC Balogun responded by pushing him with
his right hand to PC throat area.
“When PC then complained about PC Balogun’s actions in a
conversation at a time when they were only a foot apart because the music was
so loud, PC Balogun is alleged to have leant forward and to have bitten PC on
the right side of his face.”
However, Balogun denied biting the officer or grabbing his
throat, saying he only knocked off his glasses by accident when he put on the
flat cap that he had come to the party wearing.
The investigative committee said it had evidence from a
hospital that supports the assaulted officer’s case, alongside pictures taken
of his face.
The panel added that Balogun admitted that he had been
drinking alcohol before he arrived at the birthday party.
Other officers present at the party also described Balogun
as arriving at the party “in a ridiculously drunken state”.
“Gross misconduct is
defined as a breach of the standards of professional behaviour that is so
serious as to justify dismissal,” the panel concluded.
“The only appropriate and proportionate outcome in this case
is Dismissal Without Notice.”
The committee said Balogun’s history of an “unblemished
past” did little to alleviate the “grave allegations” brought against him.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com